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[neo2046]

http://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20040929-00000114-kyodo-ent
http://www.sponichi.co.jp/society/flash/KFullFlash20040929013.html

In a conference today, Yamauchi (ex-president) announces that
Nintendo will do animation movie production

 

[El Papa]

Is this a partnership with an established or upstart animation co. or are they opening thier own animation department? Nintendo cutscene madness!

 

[Late Stage Marxist]

How long till we see The Legend Of Zelda on the silver screen?

 

[explodet]

So.... did anyone see this coming?
Seems really out of left field.

 

[JoshuaJSlone]

Interesting... looking at it from the gaming side, what better way to get games with popular licenses from other media, than by creating them in the other media yourself.

http://www.sponichi.co.jp/society/flash/KFullFlash20040929013.html Babelfish

Nintendo Co. to animation production advance

The Nintendo Co. Yamanouchi 溥 senior adviser on the 29th, in press conference in Kyoto city, showed the intention which advances to the production of animation for the theater, made that you propose to October management committee clear.

Interview palace "time of the Ogura hundred human one neck which the cultural foundation where Yamanouchi serves chief director constructs in Kyoto city was opened after the ceremony for sanctifying ground of the rainy lord," showed the conception which picks up the poet of the Ogura hundred human one neck as a material of animation.

As for Yamanouchi "not only Japan and we would like to make the work which passes even in the foreign country. As for the game software the movie making there is a close position. It means that management committee decides, but it keeps appearing in such field, it should, is. Nintendo Co. may owe risk ", that you expressed.

 

[Scrow]

http://www.nifty.com/globalgate/

任天堂がアニメ制作進出へ　山内相談役が表明
Nintendo is to animation work advance. The Yamauchi adviser expresses.

　任天堂の山内溥相談役は２９日、京都市内での記者会見で、劇場用アニメの制作に進出する意向を示し、１０月の経営会議に提案することを明らかにした。
It was shown clearly that the Yamauchi 溥相談役 of Nintendo is a press conference in a capital city, shows the intention to advance to work of the animation for theaters, and will propose it to the management council in October on the 29th.
　会見は、山内氏が理事長を務める文化財団が京都市内に建設する小倉百人一首の殿堂「時雨殿」の地鎮祭後に開かれ、アニメの題材として、小倉百人一首の歌人を取り上げる構想を示した。
The interview was given after the Shinto ground-breaking ceremony of the palace "the shower" of the poem card which the cultural property team where Mr. Yamauchi acts as a chairman of the board of directors builds in a capital city, and showed the design which takes up the poet of the poem card as a subject matter of animation.
　山内氏は「日本だけではなく外国でも通用する作品にしたい。ゲームソフトは映画作りと近い位置にある。経営会議が決めることだが、そういう分野に出て行くべきだ。任天堂がリスクを負ってもいい」と述べた。
（共同通信） - 9月29日13時34分更新
Mr. Yamauchi "I want to make it the work accepted not only in Japan but in a foreign country. Game software is in making a movie and a near position. Although it is what a management council determines, you should go away in such a field. It was said that Nintendo may take a risk." (Kyodo News) - Renewal of 13:34 on September 29

If metroid and zelda have to be made into movies (which they don't), I'd prefer they were animated. So this is all good. I also want to see an Advance Wars TV series, with the Pokemon kind of format.

 

[Kon Tiki]

"time of the Ogura hundred human one neck

Wow great news, I hope it really successful. Seems like the only way to be considered a player in the console business is to be successful in another market.

Fire Emblem movie?

 

[Dyne]

Hope they turn out better than Square Enix in the movie business.

 

[JoshuaJSlone]

It was shown clearly that the Yamauchi 溥相談役 of Nintendo is a press conference in a capital city, shows the intention to advance to work of the animation for theaters, and will propose it to the management council in October on the 29th.

So it doesn't seem they've actually started yet, but that Yamauchi will try to push this plan through at a meeting of the board of directors in a month.

 

[explodet]

I also want to see an Advance Wars TV series, with the Pokemon kind of format.

That show would rock. But doesn't the quote say they'll be doing animation for theaters, not television?

EDIT: I can already hear in my head the Japanese voices for Andy and Lash. And maybe Eagle.

 

[Scrow]

That show would rock.

I know

But doesn't the quote say they'll be doing animation for theaters, not television?

Yes, but I was just mentioning it as something that'd be cool regardless of this news. Nintendo have already had great success with TV series like Pokemon and the Wars series has huge potential as another phenomenon. They just need to capture that morning cartoon audience and then provide assloads of merchandise and games.

 

[Meier]

I've always wondered what they've been waiting for. It's a fairly booming business on both sides of the world and seems like a logical step.

 

[Nintendo Ate My Children]

So it doesn't seem they've actually started yet, but that Yamauchi will try to push this plan through at a meeting of the board of directors in a month.

Yamauchi will not "try". Yamauchi will bitch slap the board of directors with his pimp hand if they oppose him.

 

[Dan]

Very interesting.

A high quality animated Legend of Zelda film would be really sweet. There's already tons of great design work that's been done over the last two decades, just put it in smooth motion.

 

[drohne]

mario is a loose-cannon cop taking on the world's most dangerous criminals...UNDERWATER

mario is an aspiring ballet dancer in a repressive southern town...BUT SECRETLY THEY'RE ALL GHOSTS

mario is an abused wife who learns to love again when a mysterious stranger drifts into town...BUT THE STRANGER IS DRACULA

mario is driving a go-kart

mario is a loose-cannon cop teamed up with a wisecracking cop...BUT THE OTHER COP IS HILARIOUSLY BLACK

mario is gay

 

[Scrow]

Yamauchi will not "try". Yamauchi will bitch slap the board of directors with his pimp hand if they oppose him.

can someone please get that picture of Yamauchi dressed as a pimp?

 

[Sho Nuff]

POKEMON: THE SPIRITS WITHIN

 

[Diomedeskun]

I want:

Fire Emblem (based on Rekka no Ken/Fuuin no Tsurugi or one of the new games)
Metroid (shoowcases backstory)
Zelda (ties in various games in the series)
Captain N: The Motion Picture (maybe not)

There are manga available for all of those games, so anime should not be too hard.

Of course, looking at nintendo's previous track record, most of the animation based on their games leaves much to be desired. Super Mario Bros. 3 is just about the only show to strongly resemble the game from among their older shows, and Kirby and F-Zero are not particularly awe-inspiring.

 

[Scrow]

Fire Emblem movie?

*splooge*
on that topic, I'd love to see fully animated cut-scenes in the GC Fire Emblem.

 

[Late Stage Marxist]

Yamauchi will not "try". Yamauchi will bitch slap the board of directors with his pimp hand if they oppose him.

:lol

DS was Yamauchi's idea. Perhaps once the DS launch plays out, Nintendo will step back and see if the old man's still got it.

 

[The Faceless Master]

man, am i the only one who gets the doomed feeling? i don't want nintendo to fail like square did :-/

 

[Late Stage Marxist]

Wouldn't there be a huge market for animated films? (at least in Japan)

 

[Scrow]

difference is, square sucks and nintendo doesn't. besides, nintendo has got yamauchi ;P

 

[ferricide]

given how deep nintendo is into crappy kids anime right now -- pokemon, kirby, f-zero ... this doesn't seem too odd. fuck it, though, that stuff isn't worth watching.

"EXCUUUUUUUUUUUUUSE ME ZELDA!" quality, but this time from japan. no thx!

 

[PkunkFury]

wasn't Fire Emblem based off of an anime? or was the anime based of the game? either way I know I saw a Fire Emblem anime way back when I was little and I think Marth was in it.

 

[snapty00]

If it's animation that's halfway decent and not based on some worthless Nintendo shit, then it'll be interesting.

That, and this might be a way for Nintendo to get exclusive content if Nintendo decides to continue its portable video series (with or without Majesco) on DS. I'd bet on Sony using its movie studios to its advantage in regards to PSP and UMD.

 

[ferricide]

wasn't Fire Emblem based off of an anime? or was the anime based of the game? either way I know I saw a Fire Emblem anime way back when I was little and I think Marth was in it.

based on the game. reputed to be shit.

 

[Scrow]

i was just thinking... couldn't this be something they're doing to support that Game Boy Advance Video thing?

 

[FitzOfRage]

Are tye talking about traditional animation or CG animation?

 

[Shoryuken]

I'm guessing there doing this for a few reasons:

1.Make money
2.Strengthen their franchises
3.Use movies/television series to get exposure for new/uncreated franchises

Either way, this is a smart move.

 

[nubbe]

BUY A BANDAI

 

[Dead]

Are tye talking about traditional animation or CG animation?

take a guess.....

 

[Stryder]

Are tye talking about traditional animation or CG animation?

Who knows, like snapty00 said above, I don't think it would be a good idea for them to use their characters or franchises in what they create (unless it's for product placement advertising ).

This excites me as it strikes me as a way for them to expose themselves to more people and give off a new image (which may help with sales of their gaming products).

 

[Late Stage Marxist]

It'd be funny (odd) if there was ever an Eternal Darkness anime.

 

[Jonnyram]

There should be a Mario & Luigi cartoon, like Beavis & Butthead, where they have some adventures and then make wisecracks about music videos in thick Italian voices.

 

[Scrow]

http://asia.news.yahoo.com/040929/kyodo/d85d4vb01.html

Wednesday September 29, 2:01 PM
Nintendo eyes entering animated-film business
Nintendo Co. intends to enter the animated-film business, Hiroshi Yamauchi, an adviser to the video game maker said Wednesday.

At a press conference, Yamauchi said that he plans to make a proposal for the project to create an animated film at a management meeting to be held in October.

He indicated that the film will cover a Japanese poet who appears in "Ogura Hyakunin Isshu," an anthology of 100 poems by 100 different poets.

"I would like to make the piece that will be acceptable not only in Japan but also in foreign countries," Yamauchi said.

Making video games is somewhat similar to movie making, he said.

"Though it is up to the management whether the company will decide to make an animation piece, we should advance to such a field. Nintendo could take a risk," he said.

 

[Late Stage Marxist]

http://asia.news.yahoo.com/040929/kyodo/d85d4vb01.html

That changes everything. Sounds like they're looking into becoming serious filmmakers. One day you might see a Nintendo picture nominated for best Foreign or Animated feature at the Oscars.

 

[FitzOfRage]

Who knows, like snapty00 said above, I don't think it would be a good idea for them to use their characters or franchises in what they create (unless it's for product placement advertising ).

This excites me as it strikes me as a way for them to expose themselves to more people and give off a new image (which may help with sales of their gaming products).

I would agree. If they're serious about this, I'd expect them to move beyond just converting their gaming properties to film. For one thing, a number of their franchises are already tied into licensing agreements. But even more than that, I don't think their games really make for great movies anyway, like most video games. Trying to shoehorn a game into a movie almost always brings up a wide range of problems. I think if they want to actually compete with real animation studios, they would need to work with something intended for a movie from its inception.

 

[AniHawk]

Fire Emblem movie?

It's been done.

Kinda.

 

[MrCheez]

I would totally sell my soul for a (non-crappy) Zelda anime. O_O

 

[TTP]

 

[Kon Tiki]

It's been done.

Kinda.

So has Pokemon...did not stop them from making more.

 

[DDayton]

He indicated that the film will cover a Japanese poet who appears in "Ogura Hyakunin Isshu," an anthology of 100 poems by 100 different poets.

I think I remember reading about Yamauchi being a member of a local historical society dedicated to that anthology....

Ah, here it is:

The Return of Yamauchi

Former Nintendo overlord Hiroshi Yamauchi has become president of the Ogura Hyakunin Isshu Project foundation, a group dedicated to promoting and preserving the Ogura Hyakunin Isshu. (On the off chance you aren't familiar with medieval Japanese literature, the Ogura Hyakunin Isshu is a collection of 100 poems written by 100 different Japanese poets between the 7th and 13th centuries.) Yamauchi seems to be the chief financial sponsor of the foundation, which would explain why he was made president. The foundation hopes to build a museum in Kyoto and start an informational tour to be sent throughout Japan, rekindling interest in this ancient collection of poems. When asked why he join the foundation, Yamauchi said that he thought it was a wonderful effort, and that Kyoto needed more tourist attractions.

-- N-Run, 11/30/03

(I really need to start updating that site again. It's useful at times.)

 

[AniHawk]

So has Pokemon...did not stop them from making more.

Because Fire Emblem is as popular as Pokemon.

 

[Kon Tiki]

Because Fire Emblem is as popular as Pokemon.

uhhh. failed joke?

(I am talking about making movies based on popularity)

 

[AniHawk]

uhhh. failed joke?

(I am talking about making movies based on popularity)

Fire Emblem, as much as I'd like them to give it a second, serious try, probably doesn't have the support it used to during the height of its popularity (which was 1995 with FE IV).

I doubt we see a The Legend of Zelda anime since someone at Nintendo once said that they would then have to base the games off the anime. However, if they got Capcom to do Anime Zelda, and Nintendo to do the normal Zelda line... that could work out.

It would rock to see some anime cutscenes in a Fire Emblem game though.

 

[lexy]

I thought Nintendo was already in the animation buisness. Who's doing Pokemon, Kirby and F-Zero right now?

 

[Prine]

Animated feature of Zelda would indeed kick all kinds of asses.

This is great news

Bring back CAPTAIN N!

 

[Scalemail Ted]

I wonder if this is the reason they were investing heavily into Bandai.

 

[Gahiggidy]

Disney is doomed.