Features News - Page 15 of 46

It can be the home of creative new ideas from the big N

So, where does the eShop stand at roughly six months old? It's had an uneven release schedule, but looking at it as a complete picture we feel that it has a solid initial library with decent variety, combining some multi-platform titles with the odd exclusive thrown in, with genres and price...

A starter ahead of the main course

This week's Nintendo Direct has now digested, and if you still need to catch up you can check out our big summary of the news for the full lowdown. After the last broadcast went big with some significant reveals, it was a more measured approach this time around, with the running time fleshed out with plenty of...

If someone gives you lemons, make lemonade

The video game industry is a strange beast, especially for Nintendo and its Wii U system. Since launch it's had some early ups with launch week sales and some thoroughly decent releases, but also lows with a loss of momentum and a fair amount of negative press. Some excellent exclusive software has...

Not as big as other Direct summaries, perhaps

Nintendo hit us with a fresh Nintendo Direct on 17th May, with the usual 24-hour notice period to leave Nintendo gamers scrambling to check their diaries. With a focus on Wii U releases in Spring and Summer, we should have known that, ultimately, this would be a little lower key than recent bombastic...

You're doing well, young one

Earlier this week British tabloid The Sun somewhat defied its own 3DS-bashing tradition, when one of its writers rather boldly proclaimed that Nintendo's portable is "the best console ever". While we're not sure about that just yet, we do think the handheld has come a long way since its early days of non-existent sales...

Veteran UK developer talks about Putty's return and future projects

Today saw the confirmation that System 3's Putty Squad is coming to the Wii U and 3DS. We got in touch with the UK-based studio to talk about the game, how it differs from the Amiga version and what the company's plans are for the future. We spoke to studio founder Mark Cale, who...

Hugo Smits gives insight into a developer's life

While we'd suggest that he doesn't necessarily get the attention he deserves, Hugo Smit — through his studio Goodbye Galaxy Games — delivered four notable DSiWare experiences. These have all been published by third-parties, but have each had merits and plenty of areas worthy of praise. Of...

Jon tries to drop the hammer but settles for waving a foam finger

This is the second part of our man Jon's personal Animal Crossing: New Leaf diary, which is part of a Nintendo-organised "Mayor Program". You can read all about how we came to be involved in this article, where we also explain our reasoning for participating. With that out of the way,...

We speak to successful crowdfunders

Kickstarter, as regular readers of Nintendo Life have no doubt noticed, is becoming increasingly visible in the gaming media. It's not just here that the crowdfunding site is gaining a lot of web space, as increasing numbers of fundraisers begin to emerge, gain significant support and, of interest to us here,...

Games are a bit less 'final' than they used to be

It's not so long ago that Sony and Microsoft's platforms began to drown in DLC (downloadable content) while, for Nintendo gamers, it was largely restricted to the occasional Guitar Hero or Rock Band track on Wii. Nintendo had an attitude of adopting online trends and practices in its own sweet...

Jazz Hounds

It's barely more than a month before Animal Crossing: New Leaf finally hits western shores, and whilst we impatiently wait to get our paws on it we thought we'd take a look at the history behind one of the village's favourite regulars: K.K. Slider. With his country guitar and unique vocal style (who could forget such hit lyrics as...

Oh yes, we're going there

Earlier this week we reported on a story in the Japanese media that Nintendo is providing developers with software to convert smartphone games to Wii U. If true that could potentially have various implications, but until Nintendo reveals more — the source report was a little vague and quoted anonymous "company sources"...

Oh for the days of that Revolution reveal

The Wii U Virtual Console is well and truly up and running, which its greatest supporters will say is a more-than-welcome boost of old-school goodies to fill out the Wii U lineup, and the greatest cynics may say it's another example of Nintendo mastering the art of selling very old rope. Based on the...

Nibbling away at good taste

This is the first part of our man Jon's personal Animal Crossing: New Leaf diary, which is part of a Nintendo-organised "Mayor Program". You can read all about how we came to be involved in this article, where we also explain our reasoning for participating. With that out of the way, we hope you enjoy this first despatch...

Game art for all to enjoy

Earlier this week we directed your attention to the "Printing Miiverse" art show, which is a collection of 13,255 drawings from 172 artists, showing just how many attractive illustrations have graced the Wii U's social network. Miiverse has proven to be an early success on Nintendo's system with plenty of active...

Jon gets recruited as an early Mayor, sadness ensues

If you follow us on twitter you may have noticed that our Editor-At-Large, Jon Wahlgren, has in his enviable, clammy hands an English-language digital copy of Nintendo’s newest quaint life sim, Animal Crossing: New Leaf. In fact, a few dozen people have received early copies — not only the...

A decade under the ocean

This week marked the 10th anniversary of The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker’s European release, a title that’s equally one of the most beloved and controversial titles in the entire Zelda franchise. Launched on the GameCube between 2002 and 2003 worldwide, The Wind Waker had a troubled launch, due largely to a...

"3DS and the Wii U are two of the best platforms we could hope to get on"

We recently reported on the Kickstarter campaign for Rex Rocket and the chances of the game making its way to the 3DS and Wii U eShops. Creator Rob Maher got in touch with us to talk a little more about the project, as well as future ideas for Nintendo systems. Nintendo...

Won't somebody think of the children?

The past week has brought us a couple of stories around the localisation of Fire Emblem: Awakening that, depending on your viewpoint, may be considered either funny, quirky or a disheartening example of censorship. We had the Nintendo of Europe translation of one conversation remove a rather juvenile reference...

It's what we do

The weekend is upon us, dear readers, and rather than relax our weary minds with some rest we plan to exercise our thumbs and senses with some gaming shenanigans. And why not? A sharp mind is always important, whether it's planning strategies for turn-based battles or assessing an environment before charging in with guns blazing,...

We go hands-on with the map packs released in Europe so far

Fire Emblem: Awakening is a truly amazing 3DS title, packing hours of compelling tactical action into one of the most entertaining games we've played all year. However, thanks to a growing selection of downloadable maps, the battle doesn't have to end when the credits roll. Before moving...

Fresh approaches can avoid repeat scenarios

So here's the deal, Wii U owners. The next notable exclusive for the platform isn't due until late June — when Game & Wario hits North America — and then Pikmin 3 hits the same region on 4th August. The eShop DLC-exclusive New Super Luigi U comes in the summer at an undefined point; if you're in...

Small price, lots of space

When the 3DS was launched, it didn't even have an eShop to enjoy, and even after the online store arrived the pack-in 2GB SD card seemed perfectly adequate. With a mix of Game Boy Virtual Console titles, the odd 3D Classic and the first flashes of download-only titles from third parties, the number of blocks offered up...

The power's on the wrist

These days we take gaming portability for granted. We may kill time playing a bit of Angry Birds on our smartphones while waiting for the next bus to arrive or waiting for our dental appointment. Back in the early ’90s you could carry around a Game Boy or Atari Lynx, but neither was particularly pocket friendly. The...