It is hard to believe that 25 years ago The Legend of Zelda was created, but Nintendo doesn’t forget as they have displayed at GDC today. Satoru Iwata mentioned the fact that this year is the 25th anniversary of the creation of the Zelda series and that Shigeru Miyamoto, Zelda’s creator, is currently working on something that will allow all Zelda fans to celebrate with one another.
Also released today was a spattering of screenshots from the upcoming Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D which will be available in June for the 3DS. I can honestly say that I am impressed with the way that the game looks, the character models especially, compared to the way it looked back on the Nintendo 64.
Legend of Zelda fans should be happy if they watched the GDC anywhere on the internet today because Nintendo happened to show off a brand new trailer for The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword. The game itself isn’t done of course and the trailer itself has Japanese writing in the place of English menus but it is still a great sight to see.
On the other hand if you missed the trailer then you don’t need to worry because we have the video below. In the video we see a plenty of combat and even some tight rope action as Link balances on it. Also we see a very unsightly looking HUD with a giant wiimote on the side of the screen that hopefully won’t be in the final build of the game.
Yep that’s right the iPad 2 is coming very soon. I have absolutely no idea how Apple is able to release such a device as the iPad and not only that, but within about a year’s time from its initial launch. Release a brand new upgraded version of the same ‘said’ device. Regardless of what I think, it’s happened! shrouded in secrecy, rumours and much speculation from the media the iPad 2 has finally been revealed by Steve Jobs himself at the official ‘iPad 2 press conference’ in San Francisco. Coming straight from the horse’s mouth, Apple CEO Steven Jobs himself presented the highly anticipated details, technical specifications, features and all the bells and whistles.
The new iPad 2 is thinner and lighter than its predecessor measuring in at 8.8mm thick, that’s thinner than an iPhone 4 and weighs just 1.3 pounds or 590 grams. The iPad 2 also features two new cameras located on both sides of the device, for taking photos, HD videos and utilising ‘Facetime’. As well as a new and improved A5 dual-core processor which delivers faster speed on the device and is said that it will allow the iPad 2 to run twice as fast than its 1st generation counterpart thanks to the A5 which offers 9x faster graphics processing power. Good news for iPad gamers, as this also means that gaming on the iPad will now be even faster with better graphics, all the while maintaining at steady 10 hour battery life. The iPad 2 also comes with a nifty magnetic ‘Smart Cover’, which easily connects to the iPad 2 and automatically locks the device when covered and unlocks it when uncovered. Smart cover can also be rolled up and used as a stand for easy viewing.
The iPad 2 will be available in two colours – black and white – and is set for releases on March 11 in North America and on March 25 in Australia.
Sounds like the new tagline for the 3DS should be “It does everything” instead of the PlayStation 3. TDuring the Nintendo GDC keynote conference they released information that the 3DS’ virtual console will be a host to plenty of different titles such as the previously known games for Game Boy and Game Boy Color. But what we didn’t know about was the fact that there will also be games from the Sega Game Gear and the TurboGrafx-16.
There were no specific titles named so you will have to hold your expectations in check at the moment. The Virtual Console itself will be showing up in late May after a system update which is also when a whole bunch of other features will be included as well such as the web browser, eShop and DSiWare functionality. Looks like the best time to pick up a 3DS is actually in May.
Nintendo’s GDC sure is bringing plenty of new reveals but finally we are getting a video game reveal from Sotoru Iwata. During the presentation a logo appeared on the screen behind Iwata that featured the Super Mario Brothers logo and a tail attached to the end. As to whom the tail could belong too, or the power up itself, has yet to be revealed but it can be quite obvious what it is.
There was little information given about the game other than the fact that it is being developed by the Super Mario Galaxy development team and that more will be announced at E3 this summer. Looks like GDC is only fit for teasing games and not announcing them.
It seems that Nintendo definitely has all of their bases covered. After an earlier announcement of the portable Netflix ability that the 3DS will obtain early this summer they have also just announced the fact that 3DS owners will soon be able to access any AT&T Wi-Fi hotspots that they come across around the country.
This means that you will be able to connect to your favorite Wi-Fi hotspot with your 3DS and be able to quickly download your movies or your movie trailers in public. Also it provides a new ability to sit in public and show off the fact you own the 3DS in the first place.
At Nintendo’s GDC 2011 conference, Reggie Fils-Aime, company president, announced that the 3DS will have a brand new ability soon that even some of the most expensive camcorders can’t even achieve at this point. That feature is the ability to record live video through the camera on the 3DS, and that video itself be displayed in 3D.
This feature was unfortunately simply announced and was not given any further detail or an expected time of release. This could mean however that you will simply be able to record video and have it play back on the 3DS in 3D, but most likely have it displayed as normal video, or not able to be displayed on other devices that it is transferred to.
The ability to watch your favorite movies on your 3DS has now been realized, or so it seems with the announcement of Netflix being available for the 3DS after a system update early in the summer season. Unfortunately there was not an excessive amount of detail given about the service other than that it will offer something they are calling “short-form video service.”
Besides having the Netflix content there will also be movie trailers, music videos and comedy shorts available to be watched on the 3DS after the update is applied. And better yet, apparently the videos you will be able to watch will be modified so that they will display in 3D.
In case you were wondering who was buying Nintendo’s consoles and games and who wasn’t then at GDC Nintendo just revealed a little bit of information regarding this. Nintendo president Satoru Iwata began the Nintendo GDC presentation today with some statistics about the US gaming growth the company has seen since November 2007 until October 2010.
According to their studies they have seen continuous growth over the years with people using their consoles with an increasing decline in “sleeping users” which means people who own their systems but don’t actually use them at all. He went on to describe this bar graph by saying that there are at least 201 million users in the latest version. His statistics also included the fact that the female market for gaming has exploded compared to the male market, and that gamers game less as they grow older. Or maybe they moved on to more elaborate consoles.
As we previously mentioned in this weeks podcast, the team here at Capsule Computers are all greatly disappointed in the banning of the latest title in the Mortal Kombat franchise down under. However some unexpected good has come out of the situation, bringing an age-old issue into the light all over the country, as well as all over the globe. The ratings system here in Australia is unfair and outdated, a relic of the ancient past. While Warner Brothers are seeking an appeal and doing their best to get the game down here, many have realised we shouldn’t have to miss out on great games like Postal 2 (2003), Manhunt(2003) and Mortal Kombat (2011) or settle for censored games such as Left 4 Dead 2(2009) and The Getaway(2002). We deserve the right to play the same game many other countries have worldwide and unfairly have to stick with censored content.
You see the problem is video games down here are still not respected as a form of art a such as paintings and film, but rather seen as children’s toys, games like Monopoly and Scrabble which should be fun for the whole family. The classification board needs to understand that there is a large mature audience for this material and we deserve the right to this content.
Founder/Director of Capsule Computers Phillp Federico aka: MasterAbbott on this weeks Capsule Computers Podcast spoke on the subject:
Hopefully we can get this R18+ thing happening, because in my opinion it is the most logical way of doing things…There’s a big sign when you walk into a bar that says ‘we’re not allowed to serve drinks to minors who are not over 18. If you are, or whatever, we would like to see ID first. If you don’t show us ID and we serve you a drink, we will cop a fine!’ Now how hard is it to do something like that? Just go into Gamestop, go into EB Games, go anywhere, big sign there that says ’18+, blah blah blah if you wanna buy this game, you gotta show us your ID, are you over 18? There you go. Buy the game walk away’….and that’s what I think we should be doing, and I think hopefully fingers crossed I would pray in the next year this will happen and everyone will live happily ever after.
All over the internet many gamers are expressing similar views as well. Even if Mortal Kombat does make it to Australian shores, how long will it be till the next game is threatened? Gamers, we must rally together and fight for this cause. There is the official Capsule Computers petition below for everyone worldwide to sign to fight for the respect mature video games deserve.
Sign the petition here and help us influence video game history. Tweet the link and post it as your facebook status, together we can help make a change for the future of video games down under.
PLEASE NOTE: When signing the petition, please DO NOT swear, it’ll only weaken our argument and damage it. In order for this to be effective, we need to PROVE that mature video gamers are in fact mature and are respectable and intelligent individuals, worthy and deserving of having this ban lifted. Thank you all, and please tell your friends to help us fight for this nobel cause!
