Polygon - Nintendo at E3 2013: All the newshttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/42931/favicon.ico2013-06-17T19:45:38-04:00http://www.polygon.com/rss/stream/41826472013-06-17T19:45:38-04:002013-06-17T19:45:38-04:00Super Smash Bros. director says character selection is stressful 'almost to the brink of death'
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<p>Masahiro Sakurai takes the process of adding new characters to the Super Smash Bros. seriously — possibly to the detriment of his mental and physical well-being. Choosing who stays and who goes on the game's roster is "almost deadly in the amount of time it takes me," the director of the new <a href="http://www.polygon.com/game/super-smash-bros-for-wii-u/8637">Super Smash Bros. for Wii U</a> and <a href="http://www.polygon.com/game/super-smash-bros-for-nintendo-3ds/13740">Nintendo 3DS</a> tells Polygon.</p>
<p>At E3 last week, Nintendo showed first footage of the next Super Smash Bros., revealing a handful of returning favorites (Mario, Link, Pikachu, Kirby) and three brand-new fighters: <a href="http://www.polygon.com/2013/6/11/4418618/super-smash-bros-coming-in-2014-introduces-animal-crossing-mega-man">Mega Man, Villager from Animal Crossing</a> and the <a href="http://www.polygon.com/2013/6/11/4419904/wii-fit-trainer-also-coming-to-super-smash-bros">Wii Fit Trainer</a>.</p>
<p>What's more difficult than adding a character, Sakurai says, is the removal of characters from Nintendo's fighting game series and the distress that...</p>
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https://www.polygon.com/2013/6/17/4438642/super-smash-bros-director-masahiro-sakurai-character-selectionMichael McWhertor2013-06-14T17:30:05-04:002013-06-14T17:30:05-04:00New Super Smash Bros. removes tripping; game speed between Brawl and Melee
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<p>The new <i>Super Smash Bros.</i> for Wii U and Nintendo 3DS is shaping up to be a return to the more hardcore four-player fighting game experience of its GameCube predecessor, game director Masahiro Sakurai says.</p>
<p>In an interview with Polygon, Sakurai explained many of the gameplay changes coming to the Wii U and 3DS fighter. He also touched on what's staying the same and, in some cases, being removed.</p>
<p>The speed and style of gameplay in <i>Super Smash Bros. for Wii U</i> and <i>Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS</i> is being designed to live somewhere between the previous two games in the series, <i>Brawl</i> for Wii and <i>Melee</i> for GameCube.</p>
<p>"To paint in broad strokes, <i>Melee</i> is for the maniac, the veteran player, while <i>Brawl</i> is for a newer, more casual gamer, as...</p>
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<a href="https://www.polygon.com/2013/6/14/4429220/super-smash-bros-for-wii-u-nintendo-3ds-removes-tripping">Continue reading…</a>
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https://www.polygon.com/2013/6/14/4429220/super-smash-bros-for-wii-u-nintendo-3ds-removes-trippingMichael McWhertor2013-06-14T13:00:07-04:002013-06-14T13:00:07-04:00Nintendo's E3 press conference absence was a one-off, publisher says
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<p>The E3 press conference isn't necessarily a thing of the past for Nintendo.</p>
<p>This year's unique approach to the show, skipping the press conference and opting instead for a very hands-on driven approach to its E3 showing, was one driven by what Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime said was a specific set of circumstances.</p>
<p>Speaking with Polygon about halfway through the show, Fils-Aime said that if he were to do it over again Nintendo's approach to E3 this year would have been exactly the same, to not have a press conference. But that doesn't mean that it's done with E3 press conferences.</p>
<p>"Next year and what we do at E3 next year is going to be an ongoing conversation, based on what the right thing to do is for the content we...</p>
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<a href="https://www.polygon.com/2013/6/14/4429168/nintendos-e3-press-conference-absence-was-a-one-off-publisher-says">Continue reading…</a>
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https://www.polygon.com/2013/6/14/4429168/nintendos-e3-press-conference-absence-was-a-one-off-publisher-saysBrian Crecente2013-06-14T09:00:05-04:002013-06-14T09:00:05-04:00New Super Luigi U remodels 82 courses to be shorter but harder
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<p>Luigi's shorter, harder levels</p>
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https://www.polygon.com/2013/6/14/4429110/new-super-luigi-u-remodels-82-courses-to-be-shorter-but-harderTracey Lien2013-06-14T06:00:04-04:002013-06-14T06:00:04-04:00Wii Party U introduces tabletop gaming to GamePad
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<p>Wii Party U's modes</p>
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<a href="https://www.polygon.com/2013/6/14/4428962/wii-party-u-introduces-tabletop-gaming-to-gamepad">Continue reading…</a>
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https://www.polygon.com/2013/6/14/4428962/wii-party-u-introduces-tabletop-gaming-to-gamepadTracey Lien2013-06-14T05:00:03-04:002013-06-14T05:00:03-04:00Mario & Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games could use a few friends
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<p>Mario, Sonic and co. are headed to Sochi, Russia, for the 2014 Winter Olympics, and it's a trip that may be better with friends.</p>
<p>We visited the Nintendo booth to play the E3 demo of <em><a href="/game/mario-sonic-at-the-sochi-2014-olympic-winter-games/13283" class="sbn-auto-link">Mario & Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games</a></em>, which included three of the events from the upcoming minigame collection: Snowboard Cross, a downhill snowboarding course; Four-Man Bobsleigh, a cooperative bobsledding experience; and Winter Sports Championship Race, a solo combination of a few different sports.</p>
<p>All the events suffered from a noticeably poor frame rate, especially when the on-screen action got busy. And each game required the use of motion controls, whether with the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="/wii-u">Wii U</a> GamePad or a Wii Remote Plus, and the controls didn't feel nearly...</p>
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https://www.polygon.com/2013/6/14/4428580/mario-sonic-sochi-2014-olympic-winter-games-preview-e3-2013Samit Sarkar2013-06-13T21:27:06-04:002013-06-13T21:27:06-04:00The Wonderful 101 is truly bonkers
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<p><span style="line-height: 1.5;">Chaos is the dominant theme of <em>The Wonderful 101</em>, an over-riding sense of senselessness splintering a kaleidoscopic array of color, action, confusion.</span></p>
<p>The nice man who is spending his entire E3 on his feet, showing initiates how to play the game, says, "Yeah, I've spent most of these demos talking, telling people what to do," before directing me across yet another obstacle.</p>
<p>Normally, in game design terms, this is A Bad Thing, because games are supposed to be 'intuitive'. But, in <em><a class="sbn-auto-link" href="/game/the-wonderful-101/7832">The Wonderful 101's</a></em> case, developer Platinum Games has a valid excuse. We're not here playing through any tutorials, we're looking at the game in its fulsome disorder. And that's the whole point.</p>
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<p><span style="line-height: 1.5;">You are controlling a pack of dozens of characters and...</span></p>
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<a href="https://www.polygon.com/2013/6/13/4428182/the-wonderful-101-is-truly-bonkers">Continue reading…</a>
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https://www.polygon.com/2013/6/13/4428182/the-wonderful-101-is-truly-bonkersColin Campbell2013-06-13T20:00:02-04:002013-06-13T20:00:02-04:00Yoshi's New Island has some things old, some things new, some gigantic bats
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<p>Economists explain brand names as a substitute for specific knowledge. Whether you're in Memphis, Montreal or Moscow, you know what to expect when you walk into McDonald's.</p>
<p><em><a href="/game/yoshi-s-new-island/12280" class="sbn-auto-link">Yoshi's New Island</a></em>, the upcoming <a href="/3ds" class="sbn-auto-link">Nintendo 3DS</a> installment of the franchise that began on the Super NES with <em>Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island</em>, adapts that concept for the video game sphere. It has all the ingredients that fans of the series would expect — Yoshi, a colicky Baby Mario, bottomless death pits, giant spiky balls running in circular perpetual motion — as well as a few new tweaks to usher it into the handheld 3D era.</p>
<p>We took the game through its paces in a serpentine level that, in typical early game fashion, taught us how to do a ground pound right at...</p>
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<a href="https://www.polygon.com/2013/6/13/4428076/yoshis-new-island-preview-e3-2013">Continue reading…</a>
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https://www.polygon.com/2013/6/13/4428076/yoshis-new-island-preview-e3-2013Dave Tach