Minimap
0 CommentsMinimap E3 2015: The news outside of press conferences
Welcome to Polygon Minimap, a podcast about the biggest news of the day.
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Minimap is your daily audio tour through the world of video games, related technologies and pop culture like comics, movies and TV. Here's what we're covering today:
THE NEWS OUTSIDE OF PRESS CONFERENCES
Kerbal Space Program is coming to PS4, highlights Sony's strength in Latin America
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 5 arriving in September for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One
PlayStation still not considering backward compatibility for PS4
DICE has a third mystery game that it's not showing at E3
Starbreeze's Walking Dead VR experience is a stand-alone game and will support SteamVR
Reggie Fils-Aime: Iwata didn't...
News
3 CommentsPress Start: All the news of E3 that's fit to print
OK. Now you can go on vacation.
Technically, E3 goes from a Tuesday to a Thursday. In reality, it's preceded by a couple days of news conferences, and trailed by a week of coverage as writers return from Los Angeles and empty out their notebooks. We'll be doing plenty of that ourselves beginning tomorrow.
Looking back, it was a hell of a newsy E3, especially for one that hit 50,000 registered attendees for the first time in 10 years. Bethesda Softworks kicked it off with a first-ever keynote jampacked with goodies, from a baller IRL Pip-Boy to a Fallout base-building game you can play right now.
Sony uncorked a wish-fulfillment extravaganza that featured Shenmue 3 (sorta), Final Fantasy 7 Remake, and The Last Guardian. Microsoft splashed the pot with a backward compatibility program...
Cover Story
Issue
07
June 8, 2015
The race for VR
Exclusive coverage of some of the most exciting game studios working in virtual reality.
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1 CommentMinimap E3 2015: The biggest news from Nintendo, Square Enix and PC gaming shows
Welcome to Polygon Minimap, a podcast about the biggest news of the day.
Subscribe on iTunes
Subscribe to the podcast (RSS)
Download this episode directly as an MP3
Minimap is your daily audio tour through the world of video games, related technologies and pop culture like comics, movies and TV. Here's what we're covering today:
THE BIG STORIES
Nintendo at E3 2015: All the news, videos and announcements
Star Fox Zero is coming to the Wii U this holiday season
Nintendo characters appearing in Skylanders SuperChargers as hybrid amiibo figures
The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes is a three-player 3DS game with a dress-up Link
Hyrule Warriors Legends comes to 3DS in early 2016
Metroid Prime: Federation Force includes Metroid Prime: Blast Ball, coming to 3DS
Xenoblade...
Latest Nintendo 3DS Forum Activity View all posts
News
22 CommentsMr. Game & Watch is the best victim of Ryu's focus punch in Super Smash Bros.
Here's a compilation of every Super Smash Bros. character receiving a focus-punch sandwich from new roster addition Ryu. But you really only need to see one: Mr. Game & Watch.
Ryu joined the Super Smash Bros. roster earlier this week, along with Roy from Fire Emblem and Lucas from Mother 3. Bringing the face of Street Fighter to Super Smash Bros. meant bringing his move set to the game, too, and that meant figuring out how the cast would react to his full-strength focus punch.
Most characters fall on their face or their ass, and so does Mr. Game & Watch, but it's the one-frame-per-second LCD-animated way he does it that makes it chortle-worthy.
Second place is Bowser getting knocked out of the Koopa Clown Car. Ryu's punch doesn't knock Wario's insane grin (or mustache) off his...
News
109 CommentsNintendo's Fils-Aime: Current state of VR isn't fun
Without a doubt, the most talked about things at E3 this year is virtual and augmented reality.
Every company seems to be either looking into reality-altering technology, creating games for it or even making their own hardware. But there is one major exception: Nintendo.
And given the 126-year-old company's history, it's an odd exception.
After all, Nintendo was one of the first major video game makers to fully embrace the use of virtual reality in games with its release in 1995 of the Virtual Boy. The headset, which displayed monochromatic 3D games using a parallax effect, was a system both too futuristic and not futuristic enough when it was released. It was dismal failure and was discontinued about six months after its launch.
The company had much greater success with its...
News
160 CommentsReggie Fils-Aime: Iwata didn't apologize for Nintendo's E3; we make great games
To be perfectly clear: Nintendo president Satoru Iwata didn't apologize.
"It was not an apology," said Nintendo of American president Reggie Fils-Aime. "It was not a statement about the content we're showing, essentially it was an 'I hear you' message."
The not-apology, the message, was a tweet sent out by Iwata seemingly in reaction to a tidal wave of negative online reaction to the company's E3 Nintendo Direct this week.
One translation, by NeoGaf user Cheesemeister has Iwata saying this:
"Thank you for watching. We take opinions of this year's Digital Event seriously and will work to better meet your expectations."
But Fils-Aime says that translation isn't exactly right and misses some of the context.
"Mr. Iwata is in Japan and what he's trying to do is help explain to...
News
13 CommentsMario & Luigi: Paper Jam will challenge your hand-eye coordination
Playing Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam feels, at first, a bit like patting your head, rubbing your stomach and scratching your nose with a third appendage.The cross-over game, announced this week at E3, combines the Mario & Luigi role-playing series with another well-loved franchise, Paper Mario. In practice, this means that you're given Mario, Luigi and Paper Mario to control simultaneously. And, as I recently learned during a demo of the game, it can get a little tricky.
My mission was fairly simple: I had to find enemies carrying helpless paper Toads and stomp 'em out in turn-based battles. Getting this done proved to be a little tricky. In the style of previous Mario & Luigi games, you control Mario, Luigi and Paper Mario on the field. Each character has a designated button to jump, and...
News
7 CommentsHere's a trailer for Fire Emblem Fates, coming to Nintendo 3DS in 2016
The game known as Fire Emblem if in Japan is now called Fire Emblem Fates and is coming to Nintendo 3DS in North America in 2016, developed by Intelligent Systems. Nintendo shared a new trailer for the tactical RPG in its E3 Nintendo Direct this morning, which you can watch above.
E3 2015
5 CommentsThe next Mario & Luigi RPG is Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam for 3DS
Nintendo's Mario & Luigi role-playing game series crosses over with its Paper Mario series in Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam on the Nintendo 3DS, announced today in the company's E3 Direct.
The game, developed by Intelligent Systems, will arrive sometime in 2016. It draws heavily on both preceding series with papercraft elements and the Mario & Luigi gameplay format.
News
1 CommentYo-kai Watch, Level-5's Pokemon-esque RPG, coming stateside this holiday
Yo-Kai Watch, Level-5's Pokémon-esque monster collecting 3DS RPG, will arrive in North America this holiday season, according to today's Nintendo Direct E3 presentation. The title launched in 2013 in Japan, where it has already spawned two sequels, as well as manga and anime adaptations.
Yo-Kai Watch casts the player as a young boy or girl who is granted the titular timepiece, which they can use to see and befriend Yo-Kai, which take the shape of ghosts possessing various abilities they can use in combat.
E3 2015
0 CommentsHyrule Warriors Legends comes to 3DS in early 2016
Hyrule Warriors Legends, the port for Nintendo 3DS of last year's Hyrule Warriors on Wii U, will launch early next year, Nintendo said this morning in its E3 Nintendo Direct.
The game is targeted for the first quarter of 2016. A video discussion with Eiji Aonuma, the Legend of Zelda series producer, said Hyrule Warriors Legends will include all DLC from the original, plus characters and stages from The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
Nintendo tipped off Hyrule Warriors for 3DS in a surprise Nintendo Direct earlier this month. The game is being made by Omega Force and Team Ninja.
Characters Tetra and the King of Hyrule will join the game, and Hyrule Warriors Legends also appears to be compatible with the Wii U version of Hyrule Warriors.
Opinion
6 CommentsNintendo World Championships was the best E3 kick-off we could have hoped for
What comes to mind when you think of E3?
As someone who's now attended seven consecutive E3s in person and has been watching and reading coverage of them for years before that, increasingly E3 has become about hype. And, hey, I love hype. I love getting excited for new games. But the kind of hype that comes out of regular press events, like the ones that will be happening over the next few days —that hype can feel incredibly manufactured.
Just look at how these press events are structured: You get some executive or, if you're lucky, a lead designer up on stage. They brag about the numbers behind their latest success. They mention the name of a popular franchise or upcoming game. The crowd cheers. They play a trailer or a short demo. They tell you when you can go to the store and...
E3 2015
7 CommentsBlast Ball, a 3v3 take on soccer with weapon-strapped mechs, announced for 3DS
Nintendo announced a new 3DS title called Blastball during the 2015 Nintendo World Championships in Los Angeles. The game is a three versus three, first-person multiplayer game where the players pilot mechs and shoot at a ball, attempting to guide it through the goal.
Each time you do so the goals get smaller, and you can also attack and disable the mechs on the other team.
You can hold the A button down to charge your shot as well as block the ball with your mech if you want to sacrifice yourself to block the goal.
The game looked fun, and the commentators jokes that this is the way to get Americans excited about soccer: Play it with mechs and laser guns. We'll update with more information or release dates as the information is released.
News
17 CommentsOld Nintendo friends among seven new amiibo coming this fall
R.O.B., Duck Hunt's dog and duck, Mr. Game & Watch and Falco from Star Fox will be available as amiibo this September, Nintendo said today during its E3/Super Smash Bros. update presentation.
They will be joined by three Mii fighter amiibo — a brawler, sword fighter and gunner.
Eventually all 51 fighters in the Super Smash Bros. roster, on both platforms, will be released as amiibo, Nintendo said. That means Roy from Fire Emblem and Ryu from Street Fighter, announced as new characters in an update live now, also are in development as amiibo.
The entire 20-minute presentation is embedded below.
E3 2015
28 CommentsSuper Smash Bros. adds Roy and Ryu to the roster today
As was rumored yesterday, Roy from Fire Emblem and Ryu from Street Fighter will be among characters coming to Super Smash Bros., Nintendo said this morning in a pre-E3 event.
Roy and Ryu are available now, along with Lucas. Roy and Lucas are available separately for $3.99 on Wii U and Nintendo 3DS, or $4.99 on both. Ryu, meanwhile, also includes Suzaku Castle as a fighting stage on both Wii U and Nintendo 3DS; Ryu and his stage are available for $5.99, or for $6.99 for both systems.
Ryu's moves have been updated for the game, but he will have some classic attacks as well, such as Shoryuken. The update will also feature themes for Ryu and Ken, remixed for the game with alternate versions as the round approaches the end.
The update mistakenly pushed out early, but before Nintendo...
Minimap
0 CommentsMinimap June 13: YouTube gaming, Tarantino, PS Mobile's last game, Bloodstained, Dota 2, Ryu in Smash Bros.
Welcome to Polygon Minimap, a podcast about the biggest news of the day.
Subscribe on iTunes
Subscribe to the podcast (RSS)
Download this episode directly as an MP3
Minimap is your daily audio tour through the world of video games, related technologies and pop culture like comics, movies and TV. Here's what we're covering today:
THE BIG STORIES
YouTube launching its own dedicated gaming app and website, YouTube Gaming
Double Dragon and other Technos brands acquired by Arc System Works (update)
Scalebound and Crackdown for Xbox One skipping E3, will show up at Gamescom
Quentin Tarantino's The Hateful Eight will hit theaters this Christmas
Oh Deer!, the last PlayStation Mobile game, will have a weird, short life
Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night Kickstarter closes with...
E3 2015
28 CommentsRoy and Ryu video found in next Smash Bros. update
Apparently confirming rumors from April, video from the latest Super Smash Bros. update on Wii U depicts Roy from Fire Emblem (above) and Ryu of Street Fighter (below) as new fighters available for the series.
Two YouTubers — TripleXero and MemeScreen — posted these videos early this morning, saying they were mined out of the Smash update which briefly released ahead of time. The videos were later taken down from YouTube. We've hosted copies of them here.
Miners said that the update also includes audio files of Xander calling our Ryu, Roy and Lucas, crowd chants for Ryu and Roy, and Kirby shouting "Hadouken!" They also found images of Ryu's Street Fighter 2 stage for the game (below) and the official render of Ryu.
In April, data miners found sound files from the 3DS...
E3 2015
48 CommentsThe big games of E3 2015
E3 2015 is just days away. Officially, it runs from June 16–18, although developers and publishers don't have to wait for then to start making news. But with so much expected to be announced, how do you keep it all straight? We're here to help.
What follows is a list of the biggest games likely to become even bigger next week.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 3
Call of Duty is returning to its most successful sub-franchise this year with developer Treyarch's Black Ops 3. Originally announced for a Nov. 11 release on PlayStation 4, Windows PC and Xbox One, it's also coming to Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, thanks to developers Beenox and Mercenary Technology. Following in the footsteps of Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare, Black Ops 3 is set in the future, where cybernetics change war.
D...
Minimap
1 CommentMinimap June 12: Darksiders 2, Steam sale, 3DS, Christopher Lee, Kickstarter, Oculus, Han Solo's blaster
Welcome to Polygon Minimap, a daily audio podcast tour though the latest news about video games, related technologies and culture.
Subscribe on iTunes
Subscribe to the podcast (RSS)
Download this episode directly as an MP3
Here's what we're covering today:
THE BIG STORIES
Darksiders 2 collection hits PS4, Xbox One this winter from original devs, future titles possible
Steam's 'Monster' Summer Sale is now live
Nintendo 3DS becomes eighth Nintendo system to sell 15M in U.S.
Christopher Lee, known for playing Count Dooku, Dracula and Saruman, dies at 93
Bloodstained tops $4.25M, becomes most funded video game in Kickstarter's history
Oculus pre-E3 event reveals final design, new games, new controller
Star Wars Battlefront's Deluxe Edition has gorgeous box art and Han...
Opinion
143 CommentsHow Nintendo can 'win' E3
Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft will each be hosting press, developers and a few fans for their big press events during E3. We are all sure to be thrilled by big announcements, possible price drops, awkward celebrity cameos and of course remasters of games we've already played.
So today we're going to ask the big question: What will it take for Nintendo to "win" E3?
A quick definition
For the purposes of this article we'll define a "win" as a press event that energizes existing fans, will help to bring in new fans and while helping the company in question improve their bottom line. If the show gets everyone talking about games and initiatives that will cause both existing and new fans to get out their wallets, that's a "win." This isn't a zero sum game, where one win means that someone...
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