While we should have known this was coming and those who thought otherwise probably will be kicking themselves for assuming otherwise, but the Nintendo Wii U will be region locked. This means that only consoles bought in a certain region will be able to play that region’s games, meaning of course that there will probably be a slew of games released in Japan that we will never even be able to import.
This news comes from a translation of Famitsu courtesy of NeoGAF. This is unfortunately a continuing streak with Nintendo, as nearly every gaming device released by Nintendo over the years, minus the Nintendo DS, has been region locked.
Ahead of the launch of Sonic and All Stars Racing Transformed, I got a chance to interview Executive Producer at SUMO Digital, Steve Lycett. We discussed all manner of things such as the game itself, SUMO Digital the company behind it, their thoughts on the current console gaming landscape and much much more.
Q. Let’s get straight into it shall we? Sumo Digital is responsible for the Sonic and Sega All-Stars Racing games. How do you approach handling such an iconic IP, especially when creating something in a different genre to that in which most are accustomed to with these characters?
A. Wow! Tough opener! Once we’ve picked the genre, we consider what ground rules we’ll need to lay to make it all hang together.
First the kind of game helps dictate the levels. We knew we’d want locations with land, air and sea, so we looked at classic SEGA games that fulfilled it. That’s why this game has a Panzer Dragoon track. Last time, with you effectively ground based, it didn’t make much sense as you’d not get to see all the cool things you’d expect to see once up in the air. Now we can fly, makes a lot more sense, plus with Panzer track having a sort of Grand Canyon feel, also allowed water sections in that track.
The same goes with the characters too. We had to be sure we could pick characters that allowed us to come up with cool vehicles designs which referenced not only the character, but also the original game too. Plus we’ve got to bear in mind that characters need to be desirable to new players and not just established fans.
For the gameplay itself, we also try and make it feel very SEGA-like. Hence the OutRun like drifting and speed, the AfterBurner feel to the flight, though finding a water game to reference was tricky, we’ve only really got the tech in the last few generations to have water be a reality!
So through all these elements, it helps ties the game into one cohesive whole. It should look and feel seamless and believable, but a lot of effort goes into making that the case!
Q. With the upcoming release of Sonic and All-Stars Racing Transformed, what new additions to the series can we expect to see with this title?
A. Where to start! First the whole Transformation aspect opens a lot of new doors, and when we say land, air and sea, we could equally say rollercoaster, space and volcanoes! You’ll be visiting lots of classic SEGA universes and we take every opportunity to pack the game with variety as we can.
Then we have made it so you can play pretty much everything in the game with 4 (or 5 on WiiU!) split-screen multiplayer, including taking your split-screen party online. I think this is a real first for the genre and it’s been great fun testing that out and bringing it to life.
Whilst I’m talking online, we’ve really expanded it this time. You can opt to compete to increase your racer score via competitive online play, or kick back and play with your friends in a Party Play mode where you can pick which tracks and game modes to play.
That’s before we talk about World Tour, a mode where you journey through a series of chapters, working together to unlock new characters and face some stiff challenges.
Plus we’ve tried to make it all super accessible with 4 different difficulties throughout everything – allowing everyone to have a play, no matter their ability. Or if you’re hardcore, notch it right up, it’s a real challenge at the deep end!
Q. The Sonic and All-Stars Racing series seems to be influenced by games like Mario Kart. Is this a conscious influence? Are there other influences behind the games?
A. You know, nobody has ever mentioned this before… I could argue of course that Mario Kart was inspired by Power Drift!
Really, whilst on the face of it you could say both games feature characters racing, I see our game about racing first and weapons second. This comes from the SEGA DNA we run through the game as a side effect of referencing OutRun’s handling. When it’s come to the flight and water, we wanted to have a best of breed arcade feel, so we’ve looked at lots of games that do this well, so games like Wave Race and Sky Drift were some of the games we’ve taken inspiration from.
I also think it helps that we’ve really tried to do something fresh and new by having the transformation and the three handling models. We did have a jolly good old swear when they announced Mario Kart 7 with gliding and driving underwater – especially as we were a year into the making of our game, but we have proper flying and boating, so again, we’re quite different!
We all stand on the shoulders of giants of course, but we are trying to drive the genre forwards too!
Q. Sonic is known for his speed, how does speed incorporate into Sonic and All-Stars Racing Transformed? Is it as big a component of the game as it is with the Sonic the Hedgehog series?
A. Speed remains the core component of the game. Specifically everything you do is to maintain speed or increase it. We’re brought the drift system over from ASR, and basically the more you drift, perform stunts and chain boost pads together, the faster you go. This works whether you are a car, boat or plane, plus we have some hidden advanced techniques to do even more.
On top of this, the higher you push the difficulty, the faster the vehicles accelerate and travel. So at higher speeds this actually opens new opportunities to take certain routes and work out the new best lines to take. It’s got the same kind of immediate pick-up and play, but we’ve worked hard to make sure there is depth in the handling, not least as it’s running under some proper physics this time round too!
Q. Sonic and All-Stars Racing Transformed is being developed for a wide range of platforms, one of which is the Wii U. What was it like developing for Nintendo’s newest console the Wii U?
A. It’s so nice to have some new hardware! You look at both the Xbox360 and PS3, and they’re both getting on for 7 years old! So not only do we get to play with a lot more memory and an up to date GPU, but we also have the GamePad to try new things out with too.
When we first received hardware, we had the game up and running pretty quickly, and then we basically got new SDK’s and hardware revisions and it just kept getting faster.
So really the challenge has been working out from a gameplay point of view what we wanted to do. There’s some really cool party games in there where it’s one player VS a team, I think these will be enjoyed, plus of course we’ve got 5 player splitscreen and more. I don’t want to ruin all the surprises, so I’ll stop there!
Q. What does Sumo Digital think of Nintendo’s Wii U console? Are you interested in developing more titles for it in the future?
A. I think we’ve likely touched on the tip of the iceburg of things that can be done, so there is a definite desire there to really dig into that. Of course, it all depends on the project, if Nintendo knocked on the door and asked for a WiiU F-Zero or something, I’m sure we’d be interested!
Q. Racing Games seem to be a genre that Sumo Digital is accustomed to. But that is not all that you are known for. How different is the experience of creating a Racing Game like Sonic and All-Stars Racing compared to an adventure game like the Doctor Who: Adventure Games?
A. Yeah, we don’t really see ourselves as a racing game developer as we’ve tackled all manner of genres! In fact as I think about our current set of titles, there is only really Transformed that is a racing game, and even then, not really a traditional one!
Each game brings its own challenges, we don’t necessarily have to worry about conveying a wide range of emotions in the All-Stars games, they’re all about high action arcade fun, but an adventure game is different story. There the writing, locations, camera shots and more are designed to pull the player into the story and make them effectively role play the character. Here I am in a dire situation and I’m the Doctor, how would I deal with it?
So yes, you have to approach each game differently, and really, that’s why it’s great to work here. We have such a variety of projects that it makes each one different and special.
Q. The Doctor Who: Adventure Games received a great deal of fanfare from gamers and Doctor Who fans alike. Can we expect more adventure games like the Doctor Who: Adventure Games from Sumo Digital?
A. Right now, I don’t think we got plans in the short term, but you know that can change at any given moment. I had a mail from the BBC the other day as a side effect of doing Games Brittania which was an educational event we were involved in, and they’re keen to look at what the future holds. So who can say!
Q. OutRun is one of SEGA and Sumo’s longest running franchises, dating back to 1986. It has been several years since the last OutRun game was released. Is there any future plans to continue the series, or has OutRun run out of steam?
A. You know, we’ve got plenty of ideas of where we could take a new OutRun game, indeed when we were doing the arcade version of All-Stars Racing, I was invited to put a pitch in for an arcade OutRun sequel. So it might happen, I know it would be nice to get back into a Ferrari and go on that journey!
Q. Sumo Digital is known for a lot of titles that are based upon already existent IPs. Would Sumo Digital ever consider creating their own IP?
A. It something we talk about a lot, but I really feel our core strength is taking someone elses IP, treating it with respect and bringing out what makes that IP special. Anyone here can submit a pitch of a design, and we do a review on these periodically to see if it gets us all excited, so again, whilst it hasn’t really happened to date, it certainly not something we’ve consciously said we’ll never do.
Q. Finally, would you like to say anything to all of your Sumo Digital fans that have supported your games over the years?
A. I spend a lot of time on forums interacting with the players of our games, and I hope they see all the love and effort we pour into everything. All I can say is thanks for all the feedback and support, hopefully you see that we always think of the player first and foremost in all our projects!
That concludes our interview with Executive Producer at SUMO Digital, Steve Lycett. Sonic and All-Stars Racing Transformed will be hitting consoles late November 2012. As always be sure to let us know what you think in the comments section below.
Today Namco Bandai decided to release the opening video for their upcoming 3DS crossover SRPG Project X Zone which can be seen below. If you can’t tell from the video, Project X Zone features characters from many Namco, Capcom and Sega franchises.
While this may not have been too interesting for some of us less than twenty four hours ago, the fact that Tekken’s producer, Katsuhiro Harada, has revealed that he has been pushing for the game to be localized. This means that you should probably check out the video below and start letting Namco Bandai know that just like Harada, you want to see this game in the West!
This year at the EB Games Expo will be a chance for select players to compete in the Alienware Fifa 13 tournament featuring the Sydney FC. How this will work is that the tournament will be a team knockout affair where players will compete right up until the finals where they will face off against the Sydney FC players.
On the tournament, one of Sydney FC players had this to say –
“I’m ultra-competitive in any environment, whether it’s on the football field or playing a game on the PC,” said Sydney FC midfielder Rhyan Grant. “A lot of the players are also gamers so you can be guaranteed whoever plays will be in it to win it.”
Winners of the tournament will be eligible to win a whole bunch of goodies. These include games, merchandise and tickets to see the Sydney FC play. It seems like this is the ideal prize for a soccer fanatic. Anybody looking to enter should sign up for the tournament at the convention at the Alienware Airstream mobile gaming hub near the exhibition hall.
The Alienware FIFA 13 Tournament coincides with the kick off of the A-League 2012/13 season. Sydney FC’s first home game will be held at Allianz Stadium on Saturday 13 October. Kick off is 5.30pm.
Seth MacFarlane, creator of Family Guy and writer/director/star of the box office smash Ted, has made plans to develop a brand new live-action comedy for FOX. The show is set to follow a pair of thirty year old successful friends who end up having their crazy fathers move in with them.
McFarlane is set to be joined by Ted co-writers Alec Sulkin and Wellesley Wild to executive produce and write for the show. This sounds like a recipe for success! Furthermore, word has it that MacFarlane is also considering making a sequel to Ted, which should be exciting.
While our editors on the floor at Tokyo Game Show couldn’t find a single Toki to Towa unit playable on the floor, there were plenty of advertisements promoting a certain Japanese music artist who has a new song set to be released soon, May J.
The reason for all this promotion you ask? Because the song “Rewind” has been set to nearly four full minutes of gameplay and video footage of Toki to Towa. There is footage of battles, the slightly stiff exploration and plenty of cutscenes. While it is unknown whether the song will be in the game itself in any way, it is certainly pleasing to listen to and can be seen below.
Last week, Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 Remix was announced for the PS3, and will bundle together Kingdom Hearts: Final Mix, Kingdom Hearts Re: Chain of Memories, and Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days. Of course a lot of fans are pumped about the news, but now everyone can gawk at a new trailer that Square Enix have graced us with.
Yes, these games do look better, as the models have been smoothed out and the environments look much cleaner. What is more interesting though is that 358/2 Days will also boast all of the same HD treatment, which is a major upgrade from the DS’ low resolution. As of now, this compilation is slated for 2013 for Japan, with no word on a western localization. While you wait with hope, check out the clip down below.
Studio: Nintendo Publisher: Nintendo SPD Group No. 1 Platform:Wii Release Date: September 13, 2012 Price: $49.99
Overview
Keeping in with the natural rhythm of things, Nintendo has released yet another quirky, off-beat, mini-game filled casual title just in time for the Wii. Why all these poorly constructed music-based references you ask? Well firstly because Beat the Beat: Rhythm Paradise is all about maintaining your rhythm throughout 50 mini-games, and secondly because the only thing worse than my rhythm is my sense of humor. That being said, Beat the Beat: Rhythm Paradise is a fun, creative and interesting title worth checking out. Think WarioWare meets a more casual Guitar Hero. That’s the best way I can describe Beat the Beat: Rhythm Paradise and that still doesn’t come close.
Gameplay
Beat the Beat: Rhythm Paradise takes players through over fifty bizarre mini-games that require the player to maintain rhythm using the A and B buttons. No control sticks, motion swipes, just simply two buttons. Think that’s easy? Guess again. These levels are filled with challenges from testing see-saws with superhuman jumps, playing tambourine with a monkey, interviewing wrestlers to playing badminton mid-flight….all by pressing buttons in sync to a song. Once you’ve mastered four of these levels your then expected overcome a remix of those four songs by taking on all four scenarios to generate one track. Your actions generate the sound effects that contribute to completing the song, so timing is essential. Thankfully, visual cues are there to help you, but these are also often obstructed by objects so maintaing rhythm. It should be noted that unlike most music-based games, Beat the Beat: Rhythm Paradise doesn’t want you to look for visual clues, but instead to feel the rhythm and react exactly on the beat. This is sure to make the game extra challenging for those familiar with the concept.
Yes this title is filled with difficult challenges, but there is plenty of help for those who lack rhythm. Before each game a tutorial is presented, and if that’s not enough a demo of how to 100% complete the level is displayed as well. Furthermore, a cafe is present that gives tips to players as well as the ability to skip levels that are too hard. For a game that can be really challenging for those with no rhythm at all, the game is also very forgiving without being too easy. Nothing ever seems impossible with all these options at hand, which provides a great balance in both the difficulty and the learning curb.
Of coarse medals are present and other neat stuff to reward and unlock extra goodies throughout, some of which is the multiplayer which brings us to the game’s ultimate flaw. As a game that is essentially nothing but simple mini-games you’d expect to share the experience with your family and friends but on the most part Beat the Beat: Rhythm Paradise is a single-player experience. When multiplayer is available, it must be unlocked and is only accable for select titles and is only for two players. It is true that these games would be ruined by making them for 4 players, but by restricting it to only 2 the game feels like it’s missing something. Beat the Beat: Rhythm Paradise may be fun but it’s still a lonely experience. Furthermore, this experience can also be a short and while the presentation of each mini-game is generally creative and refreshing your still doing the same thing and that can get repetitive.
Graphics & Audio
One aspect that Beat the Beat: Rhythm Paradise that truly excels at is presentation. From the in-game graphics to the menus, everything is bright and bursting with colour. The art design couldn’t get any cuter even if they tried and the animation is equally as beautiful. The audio is equally as impressive, filled with catchy tunes with both Japanese and English soundtracks available for play straight from the get go. The sound effects intwine with the music as well, so what you do actually helps make the song. A perfect example of this is the game ‘Double Date’ where a ball is kicked which actually becomes the song’s snare. It’s a very creative element for a music-based video game and must be commended.
Overall
Beat the Beat: Rhythm Paradise is probably one of, if not the most unique music-based video game you’ll ever play. Filled with creativity, adorable graphics, pick-up-and-play controls and a catchy soundtrack, these rhythm based mini-games can be a pretty entertaining and rewarding experience. This interesting approach to accuracy and feeling should be appreciated by fans of the music genre. Unfortunately the life span is a bit short and the multiplayer leaves much to be desired. Regardless, Beat the Beat: Rhythm Paradise is still a solid title and is definitely worth picking up if your a fan of music titles.
The Medal of Honor: Warfighter Open Beta begins early October exclusively for Xbox 360 users. What’s interesting about this beta is that if three million users download the game before certain date, they will unlock early access to the new Linkin Park video clip. Whether or not this is something that people will be concerned about will vary.
The beta also adds a new mode called Hotspot where players have to attack and defend random points on a multiplayer map set in Bosnia. As of writing we have no idea if there will be additional maps to feature this gametype at release.
Players that pre-order the game before it launches on the 25th of October will recieve an additional map pack, if you’re in the US: called the Zero Dark Thirty (whomever came up with that name needs to be shot) map pack, while the rest of the world will recieve the The Hunt map pack.
Be sure to check out the official site for more info.
While the Tokyo Game Show wrapped up earlier today, there still are a few pieces of news that have yet to be fully revealed. Or shall we say, at least revealed in English. Japanese website Gamer happened to be in attendance during a stage event held by Sega on the last day of TGS.
What happened during this stage show you ask? The announcement of Hatsune Miku Project Diva F on the PlayStation 3 sometime next year. This announcement came from a pre-selected Twitter question that was then answered amidst a number of other questions posed by Twitter users.
Many of you know that Hatsune Miku Project Diva F was originally a PlayStation Vita exclusive and was released in Japan a few weeks ago. It is currently unknown what type of improvements will be made to the PS3 version of the game, though given the fact that DLC for the Vita version is already planned, it could contain everything in one package.
Unfortunately there was no mention of an international release for the title, nor the PS Vita version of the game during the show, but given that both the PS3 and PS Vita are region free, gamers can still freely import the titles at an additional fee.
