Zelda series producer Eiji Aonuma, undoubtedly a top authority on all things Hyrule, has confirmed in an interview both the existence of a Zelda time line, and Skyward Sword‘s placement in it. The above scan, courtesy of a source at Zelda Dungeon, is from the latest issue of Official Nintendo Magazine and is part of an interview Aonuma, who said:

“Yes there is a master timeline but its confidential document! The only people to have access to that document are myself, Mr. Miyamoto and the director of the title. We cant share it with anyone else! I have already talked to Mr. Miyamoto about this so I am comfortable in releasing this information – this title [Skyward Sword] takes place before Ocarina of Time. If I said that a certain title was ‘the first Zelda game’, then that means that we cant ever make a title that takes place before that! So for us to add titles to the series, we have to have a way of putting the titles before or after each other.”

The fact that Skyward Swords takes place before Ocarina of Time is a no brainer–SS is said to explain the origins of the Master Sword. But it’s nice to get another confirmation that a Nintendo-created Zelda time line does exist. Now to figure out where The Minish Cap fits into all of this…

ZeldaDungeon
via GoNintendo

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The Official Nintendo Magazine is entering a new medium today with the release of the new Wii show Nintendo TV. Accessible through the Wii’s Nintendo Channel, Nintendo TV will give Wii owners an inside look at game previews, and news for Wii, DS (and soon 3DS) titles. It’s basically what Nintendo Week is here in the U.S., except a n Official Nintendo Magazine production.

The first episode features a new six minute preview of Super Mario Galaxy 2, which doesn’t launch in Europe for another week.

The new show is available starting today across all of Europe.

ONM

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  UK’s Official Nintendo Magazine to have six special edition covers for ‘Galaxy 2
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Gotta catch ‘em all! Oh wait, wrong franchise. In honor of Super Mario Galaxy 2‘s June 11 release in Europe, UK’s Official Nintendo Magazine will have six different covers for their May 12th issue, as well as a set of exclusive badges for their readers. The issue will also feature a ten page review of Super Mario Galaxy 2, a profile of Shigeru Miyamoto, a celebration of “all things Mario Kart“, a preview on Scribblenauts 2, guides to Pokémon HeartGold/SoulSilver and Monster Hunter Tri and more.

Pick up a copy starting May 12, for £3.99.

06/05/10 – The June issue of Future’s Official Nintendo Magazine goes on sale next week in a special collectors’ package to celebrate the launch of Nintendo’s biggest Wii game of 2010.

Ahead of Super Mario Galaxy 2 hitting UK stores on Friday 11th June, from Wednesday 12th May Official Nintendo Magazine offers gamers six limited edition covers and a set of exclusive badges, as well as the only review that matters. With a spectacular ten-page review, Official Nintendo Magazine has the definitive verdict on the latest and greatest Mario game.

With Mario and Yoshi starring on the special collectors’ packaging, gamers will find their Official Nintendo Magazine hidden away inside boasting one of six special covers. Showcasing the biggest gameplay innovations in Super Mario Galaxy 2, the five covers available on the newsstand feature Blimp Yoshi, Rock Mario, Light Yoshi, Drill Mario or Cloud Mario, evenly split across the print run. The sixth and final cover is only available to subscribers and features ONM-exclusive artwork. The package is rounded off with an exclusive pack of four Nintendo badges – with a Mario or Zelda themed set to collect.

The June issue of Official Nintendo Magazine also features a profile of the man behind the latest Mario masterpiece, Shigeru Miyamoto, a celebration of all things Mario Kart, essential guides to Pokémon HeartGold/SoulSilver and Monster Hunter Tri as well as previews of Scribblenauts 2, NBA Jam and Dragon Quest IX.

Neil Long, Editor of Official Nintendo Magazine, said:

“Super Mario Galaxy 2 is a very special game and to celebrate that we’ve done something very special with this issue. The top notch packaging and different magazine covers reflect the breathtaking quality and diversity within Miyamoto’s latest masterpiece. Combined with several other new projects we’re working on at the moment, it’s an exciting time to be at Official Nintendo Magazine.”

Issue 56 of Official Nintendo Magazine goes on sale Wednesday 12th May, with a cover price of £3.99.

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It has been years since SEGA released a Sonic game with as much anticipation as Sonic The Hedgehog 4 is receiving. The episodic WiiWare title will launch it’s first installment this summer on Wii, PS3 and Xbox 360. I’m excited to see Sonic go back to it’s roots as a 2D side-scrolling platformer that’s focused solely on high speed fun.

The Official Nintendo Magazine of Europe has asked its forum members to pose questions to Sega’s Takashi Iizuka, the Project Lead for Sonic The Hedgehog 4. Iizuka was the Director of Sonic Adventure as well as the Lead Game Designer for NiGHTS into Dreams.

Iizuka discusses the possibility of Tails making an appearance in the series, as well as decision to use the WiiWare format as opposed to a full game disc. He manages to dodge rumors regarding Super Sonic appearing in the series and the questionable foresight of future 3D Sonic games.

Here are some questions asked by the ONM UK community forum members, extracted below.

How long has Sonic The Hedgehog 4 been in development and how has the approach for designing a downloadable game differed from the way you design other Sonic games? – MK Skillz

Takashi Iizuka: About a year including concept development. As this is a downloadable title, the data size and price is very different from a packaged title. We just focused on old school classic game content to minimise data size and price.

Were you inspired by the success of New Super Mario Bros on both Wii and DS? In terms of giving the retro fans what they wanted? – FlibyFlow

TI: At first we weren’t aware of it. At the beginning of the development we wanted to create a downloadable exclusive title but knowing that the Wii version of New Super Mario Bros. has become a major hit in Japan and also around the world, it encouraged us as even now 2D platform action is loved by a lot of people.

Continue to ONM UK to read the entire interview.

Official Nintendo Magazine

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Have no fear Pikmin fans. Those surprised to not see Pikmin 3 at GDC or the recent Nintendo Media Summit shouldn’t be too worried. According to a tweet left by the Official Nintendo Magazine, Shigeru Miyamoto confirmed development for the title is strong and steady.

ONM is at the BAFTAs! Miyamoto just told us Pikmin 3 development is “well under way”.

Looks like E3 is going to be the showcase for a new Zelda and a new Pikmin title. According to another interesting ONM tweet, Miyamoto said he isn’t too sure what he’ll be doing a decade from now.

BAFTA update: Miyamoto told [us] he has no idea what he’ll be doing in 10 years time. He wants to keep collecting ideas like a “snowball.”

Let’s not have a full mental breakdown imagining Nintendo without Shigy. It would be too much for my heart to bare.

ONM

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Nintendo’s ambitious 3D console has been nearly forgotten by the general public, and by Nintendo themselves. When introduced, the Virtual Boy represented a new form of portable gaming, and what could have shaped the future of the industry. Instead, the Virtual Boy failed, with its name often evoking laughter among the masses. To celebrate the 15th anniversary of the short-lived console, the Official Nintendo Magazine has created a feature that discusses the Virtual Boy in depth, reminding readers what went wrong.

Gunpei Yokoi was the man responsible for the Virtual Boy. As the head of Nintendo’s Research and Development group, and the producer behind NES classics Donkey Kong and Metroid, Yokoi was more known for his hardware contributions. At that time, Yokoi was responsible for the Game Boy, the Game & Watch, and the NES robot, R.O.B. His string of successes brought Nintendo to his feet in hopes to develop the next portable gaming console for the company.

Yokoi began working on what become the Virtual Boy, a large and hardly portable device that covers the player’s face. Throughout his time at Nintendo, Yokoi practiced the simple philosophy of using existing technologies to help lower the overall costs of creating hardware. This is exactly how the Virtual Boy ended up with its infamous red screen. Using red LED pixels only, Nintendo opted not to include the blue and green LED pixels, offering an extremely limited, Terminator-esque red and black viewing experience.

Graphics were the biggest downfall for the system, ironic considering Nintendo has achieved great success from their post VB consoles, none of them a graphics front runner. Because the VB’s viewfinder covers both eyes, it allowed Nintendo to achieve a 3D effect, showing a different moving image in each eye. However, the effect caused most users to become nauseous with prevalent headaches instantly. With the development of the Nintendo 64 on its heels, Nintendo rushed the Virtual Boy into the market with poor reaction. Releasing for $180, the console’s price dropped to just $99 within the first six months. Regardless of price, the negative reaction to the console aided in the destruction of the Virtual Boy, with production ceasing within the first year. Only 22 games were created, and 770,000 consoles were sold, making it easily Nintendo’s biggest blunder in the company’s history (you’re lucky Wii Music).

Yokoi felt solely responsible for the console’s failure. Even to this day, Nintendo makes no mention of the console’s existence. Shortly after the Virtual Boy’s failure, Yokoi resigned from Nintendo to work on a rival handheld. Unfortunately, Gunpei Yokoi was killed in a car accident during its development.

While the Virtual Boy was certainly a commercial failure, Nintendo’s efforts should be applauded. Developing with innovation through a different means of gameplay has made Nintendo as successful as they are today. The Wii’s motion controls and the DS’ dual touch screens have offered gamers both new and old these newer and advanced gaming experiences. Although their business model has barely changed, the company has refined their thinking and execution. Nintendo has never escaped the love/hate fanboy criticism for their business decisions, but they’ve continuously delivered classic consoles for each generation.

For a complete history lesson on the Virtual Boy, visit the Official Nintendo Magazine article below.

ONM

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• In single player, you must play as Mario.
• Even if you don’t lose him, Yoshi leaves you after each level you play with him
• There is no Nunchuk, nor Classic Controller support
• A brief pause happens each time you or your friends die in multiplayer mode (although ONM claims it’s helpful)
• No Wi-Fi modes or DLC
• No computer controller multiplayer, only humans
• No additional Power-Ups other than what you’ve seen in trailers

Phew! There you have it. It’s good to get this stuff out of the way.  Now on game day, you’ll spend it loving the title and not griping away.

UPDATE: Despite Official Nintendo Magazine claiming Nunchuk support is not offered, several sources are claiming that simply isn’t true.  The game does allow Nunchuk support.

ONM

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Having released the first review of New Super Mario Bros. Wii, and a glowing one at that, the Official Nintendo Magazine was privy to some top secret information about the upcoming title.  But having that knowledge all to themselves proved to be quite burdensome.  The mag decided to answer some reader questions, submitted via GoNintendo.  Here are some of the most notable Q&A’s (they are semi-spoilerific):

Does riding on Yoshi add the cool drums in the background like in Super Mario World?
Yes!

Is there any playable characters other than Mario, Luigi and the two Toads? I was kind of hoping for a wide variety.
No.

If playing with only two players, can you play as Toad?
Player two can play as Toad but Player one will always be Mario. Any other players who join can choose from Luigi or one of the two Toads.

Will multiplayer feature computer-controller characters?
Nope. Humans only I’m afraid.

Do any of the first items like the Mega Mushroom and stuff return? I hope so!
The Mega Mushroom isn’t in it, but the Mini Mushroom’s back. It only gets used in one or two stages though.

To read all the Q&A’s, visit Official Nintendo Magazine’s website.

ONM

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A high volume of recent Animal Crossing speculation has lead many Nintendo fans to suspect that a new Animal Crossing game will be announced at E3 this year. While we only have a handful of days to wait for the big event, the latest issue of the UK’s Official Nintendo Magazine appears to hint at some upcoming Animal Crossing-related news. This picture was printed within an E3 preview section along with the caption:

It’s been a while! It’s time to visit an old friend. How’s your village doing these days?

Could this be an early confirmation of Animal Crossing Wii, or something entirely different? Fortunately, we don’t have to wait much longer to find out!

Cubed3

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“It’s taken over three years to make Brawl but I actually stopped trying to include new ideas early on in development.

“What happened in the next year and a half was that we distilled the game down, worked out which ideas we had time to include and which we didn’t. Sadly, we had to trim out many great concepts just to keep within the time contraints. I had a lot more characters, for example.. but sadly I can’t discuss which ones didn’t make it.

“There are 39 characters in the game this time around and just adding a few more wouldn’t be enough to justify a new game in my opinion; I’d have to draw a line in the sand and have a new approach to make it worthwhile. As long as the fans enjoy it, though, that’s what matters and in the distant future, I guess that might be something I have to consider.”

Official Nintendo Magazine

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