Mario Power Tennis [GC]

As previously reported both Mario Tennis and Mario Golf are underway at Camelot Software Planning, the same company responsible for developing the previous N64 and Game Boy versions. Today we got more information from our Japanese contributor. All courtesy of Famitsu.com, of course.

Not much was revealed in the article regarding gameplay, but Takahashi Shyugo, one of the founders of Camelot, was very pleased that pro-tennis player Kamio Yone commented that the original Mario Tennis 64 game felt like real tennis. Takahasi believes that if a pro-tennis player says it feels like the real thing, users shouldn't have too much trouble believing it as well.

The new Mario Tennis will rely heavily on its N64 predecessor, but Takahashi further commented you won't be able to master the game only using previous techniques. There will be new control and gameplay mechanics to master.

There was little mention of new additions to Mario Golf, and, furthermore, no final names or release dates have been decided upon for either sports offering.

New direct-feed screens have surfaced from Nintendo, which we have posted below in our media section. Each demonstrates the same art style seen in the previous N64 version, only much more beautiful. Models are fleshed out with many more polygons, motion blur effects have been added, self-shadowing is demonstrated, and a shot of Mario serving displays what may be fur effects, as previously raved about for Star Fox Adventures. If you take a close look at the self-shadowing, you'll see that Camelot is using a technique where two shades of the shadow are casted, creating a softer look. All shots are assumed to be real-time, which is evident as you can see groups of angular polygons in a few areas.

We'll have more information as soon as it is available. Enjoy the screenshots.

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