Nintendo released an official statement yesterday that the company “is in the mourning… from the sad loss of the former Nintendo president Mr Hiroshi Yamauchi, who sadly passed away this morning.”
The company then revealed that he passed away at a hospital in central Japan, due to pneumonia. His funeral will take place on Sunday.
Yamauchi first joined Nintendo in 1949, and served as president until he stepped down in 2002. He is widely credited with transforming the company’s business from small-time trading cards to global electronic empire.
Under his leadership Nintendo produced global hits such as the NES, GameBoy, and Nintendo 64, as well as legendary franchises like Mario, Pokémon, and Zelda.
His work with Shigeru Miyamoto in the 1980s paved the way for the arcade game market in the US, and the infamous Donkey Kong remains one of the most successful arcade titles of all time.
And when I actually do listen, I get this: “There’s a mysterious cloud over Death Mountain…”
I mean seriously, we’ve walking towards Death Mountain for the whole day.
I’ve been beating off Stachildren with this tiny letter-opener of a sacred ‘Kokiri Treasure’, and you come out with that?! Well thank you. You want to know what I think?
‘Hrrit!’ Dammit.
Sometimes I get so mad that I just have to cut things. Anything. Every little bit of grass I see. One time I got so mad that I just walked into someone’s house and threw every vase, smashed every pot and stole every rupee that appeared. And they just SMILED. What is wrong with people?
I went to Hyrule Castle the other day to file a complaint to Princess Zelda, but she didn’t even care about my problems – didn’t even let me get a word in edgeways.
Rather, she shoved my nose up against a window and made me look at this man she’d been spying on. Apparently he was up to no good and she didn’t trust him. Bit harsh if you ask me!
He’s the only male Gerudo for 100 years so I’m told, and he turned out ginger! Poor guy. Cut him some slack.
But before I could grumble some kind of response, Zelda just grabbed my hand and drew a triangle on it, claiming I was gifted by the Gods. The Gods!
As if. I’m an atheist darling.
And stop saying that you’ve been gifted with wisdom. You’ve been gifted with something, but it certainly isn’t that.
I can’t believe this is the girl everyone confuses me with. It’s insulting. Here I am running around doing all the hard work, and the whole thing is called ‘The Legend of ZELDA.’
All she does is go on and on about Triforces and sages and other such nonsense, eventually needing to be saving. And somehow I’m the girl. Right.
Image Credit: fanpop.com
Screw this. I’m going to the pub. Seven years in the Temple of Time ought to do me some good.
Don’t wait up for me – I crammed a fairy into this tiny bottle earlier, so I’ll be fine.
The classic Nintendo 64. Image credit: Wikimedia Commons.
Christmas 2000: Probably one of the last times I shared Christmas with most of my family. Uncles, aunties, cousins and friends all gathered at my grandparents’ house with feelings of good will and generosity. We’d survived Y2K and there was no sign of economic recession, so why not divulge whilst we still had the chance!? This euphoric atmosphere sparked my Uncle Nick to purchase an N64 for both my sister and myself. As we eagerly ripped and tore away the wrapping shackles, our faces turned from excited exuberance to one of confusion and uncertainty. Me and my sister were at this point, completely unaware of the gaming industry. Never had we pondered the next generation of consoles, or counted down the release date to a new game. But we were able to take social cues:
– Everyone was staring at us expectantly
– The present was left till last
– The present was sizeable
– The present had a bow on it
However, our lack of excitement was easily matched by my uncle’s genuine enthusiasm. He didn’t care that we had no real idea of what he’d given us. Before we could even say thank you, there was a fully unboxed, plumbed in N64 on my grandmother’s 20 inch TV. He showed us a small number of games he’d bought and then revealed what would become one of my most memorable and dearly loved games.
The 5th generation of videogame consoles introduced the idea of fully polygonal games at home. With the ability to create fully 3D worlds and environments, the amount of ‘imagination’ required in order to become immersed in a game was greatly reduced. Before this there have been many highly acclaimed games centred around an epic adventure, such as Final Fantasy and Metroid, however for me the first adventure game I became fully invested in was The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time for the Nintendo 64. Image credit: Wikimedia Commons.
A cinematic sweep across the fields of Hyrule as a young hero rides his noble steed to sound of a melancholic melody. From the very opening scene this game was vastly different to any game I’d played before. It was the first game (for me) that looked as though it was trying to be more than a game. My Uncle knew this, and was more than keen to guide me through the start, in the hopes that I would appreciate it to even a fraction what he did.
I was however, much like today, not the most gratifying of students. Firstly, I had made the jump from a 2 button controller to a 10 button controller with triggers and shoulder buttons and an analogue stick! I was barely able to handle the controls, let alone the 3D environment, and was to top it off, a 7-year-old coward. I simply refused to go into the scary Deku tree, had no intention of ever leaving the peaceful Kokiri forest, and had decided that I was going to make my fortune by scouring for rupees in the long grass. But my determined Uncle would not allow this to be the case. He aided me through the first dungeon. I left the Kokiri forest and, soon, I was swept away by an epic tale of Power, Wisdom and Courage.
This is what the N64 meant to me. A console for great adventure and
for story. No longer did I blow past story-telling as a mere excuse for the game to take place. I would, from then on, read each text bubble, learn the names of characters and soak myself in the atmosphere.
Link will return in a handheld adventure set for release later this year. The game will be a sequel to the 1991 SNES title A Link to the Past, returning to the traditional top-down perspective of the old games.
Image credit: nintendoeverything.com
Straight from the mouth of president of Nintendo America, Reggie Fils-Aime, the game is said to “reinvigorate the 2D world of the past” utilising the depth of the 3DS’s screen. While the game takes place in the same same game world as the SNES title, it will feature all new dungeons and introduce new puzzle features.
One such mechanic, as seen in the trailer, is Link’s ability to become a sketch on the wall, allowing navigation around the space to discover new pathways and routes.
From the looks of it, the new title is going to be much more focused on puzzles and platforming than previous titles, with the trailer showing off some of the obstacles you can run in to.
Mirror’s Edge for Oculus Rift induces vertigo in hundreds
Possibly one of the most terrifying games to play on the device, first-person rooftop free-runner Mirror’s Edge has been modded for play on the 3D virtual reality headset Oculus rift.
Image credit: Marcus Beard
It’s a pretty terrifying concept and it’s not something I’d ever like to try. Given the headset has been described as like “like doing acid” by reporters, missing a jump and falling fifty stories to your death doesn’t sound particularly appealing. Unless you like that kind of thing. If you’re a bit weird.
The Oculus Rift was unveiled in 2012, and is currently shipping ‘development kits’ – mainly to people who aren’t developments. The project raised $2.4 million on kickstarter, promising the first true, immersive virtual reality experience in the form of a in low latency head tracking and 110-degree field of view.
For 300 USD, you too can experience the gut-wrenching terror of plummeting to your death.
Computer programmed to learn to play NES games, exploits bugs in cartridges
Want the satisfaction of seeing the end credits roll, but don’t want to have the challenge of actually completing games?
No?
Well neither does Tom Murphy, even if his evolutionary algorithm, playfun, can teach a computer to play Super Mario. His new algorithm is more of an impressive feat of computer science, proving that it can be done, even if not providing a practical use.
Starting with a program that would simply mash buttons randomly, Murphy evolved his algorithm to become more and more proficient at playing NES games, specifically Super Mario. The algorithm works best when dealing with side-scrolling platformers, where there is clear progression in linear space.
Not only does Murphy’s algorithm play through games much further than the runs he uses to ‘train’ the program, but it also manages to find and exploit bugs. For example, did you know that mario can stomp goombas in mid air, as long as he is travelling downwards? Well, playfun does.
For a more detailed explanation and examples of the algorithm applied to other games, watch the video above.
Nintendo released an official statement yesterday that the company “is in the mourning… from the sad loss of the former Nintendo president Mr Hiroshi Yamauchi, who sadly passed away this morning.”
exeposedev 