"I would say it’s a beautiful, slow-paced experience, very ambient."
We've emphasized in recent times that there are a good number of intriguing download-only titles coming to the Wii U eShop, bringing a variety of experiences to the fore. One that could be particularly involving and complex for players to tackle may be Knytt Underground, a...
Will an overwhelmingly positive critical response and buzz deliver success?
Something slightly surprising, to me at least, happened yesterday. Super Mario 3D World had a wonderful series of reviews that went live, on any major outlet you'd care to name, bang on the embargo. I'm not talking about the scores — which were excellent — but the...
Marth's sword, The Villager's net, a MARIO GALAXY STAGE and more
We hope you agree that Mondays are made a little better with more Super Smash Bros. screens, with this 13th entry in our series being unlucky for absolutely no-one; Masahiro Sakurai has been busy, as always, on the Super Smash Bros. Director's Room Miiverse community board. Last week's...
It ain't about 'next-gen' any more
So can everyone stop talking about 'next gen" now, or do we have to wait for the One to complete the Triforce of systems? No doubt there'll still be talk of "next gen" experiences and bickering over resolutions and framerates, all while Mario casually says hi with 3D World. There's arguably a sense that the more...
There's still some distance to go
Since the Wii U launched with its shiny new Nintendo Network ID system, we've been both pleased and frustrated with its implementation. The fact it's tied to the home console hardware has led us to be critical, on occasion, to the point where we once rather cruelly equated it to the abomination of its equivalent...
Andy Robertson reveals how Zelda has inspired his son's artistic side
The biggest challenge in a family is the different perception of video games. While the gamers understand these experiences to be some of the most endearing, creative and life-giving encounters they experience, non-gamers consider them dry, solitary and mechanical affairs. Over...
Big news for 3DS and a whole load of release dates and details
So, another Nintendo Direct broadcast has come and gone. The reaction online seemed to be, as is now standard, rather mixed. Some have expressed disappointment, while others (such as this writer) thought the broadcasts did a rather good job. Primarily announced as providing details on...
As the critics attack, Satoru Iwata simply looks ahead
It's been, overall, a tough couple of weeks for the Wii U's image in the online land of gaming enthusiasts. The focused attention of many outlets is, unsurprisingly and quite correctly, on the upcoming launches of the PS4 and the Xbox One, with Super Mario 3D World just about grabbing some...
Marth, gardening tips, a spaceship-shaped bomb and more
With the start of another week we have our trusty round-up of screens from Super Smash Bros., courtesy of Masahiro Sakurai on the Super Smash Bros. Director's Room Miiverse community board. Last week delivered another character announcement, with Marth confirmed as the latest challenge
Rob Burgess explains how a country with 40 million people has been missed
Earlier this year we posted an article based on a Nintendo fan's blog, which explained how difficult it was to buy a Wii U in Poland, a large European country. Rob Burgess, the author of that blog, has since written a follow up article in which he explains in a little more...
"We’re making an interesting hybrid of some of our favourite games"
While the Wii U eShop has a fair number of download-only projects on the way, it's a relatively modest number that are exclusive to the platform. That's unsurprising, as development tool such as Unity — combined with supportive low cost-of-entry platforms — allow smaller...
Wii Sports Club keeps it local, unless you're in a PAL territory
Nintendo can work in mysterious ways at times, especially when it comes to online modes. Some will feel that the company doesn't actually deliver enough online gaming — with many titles committed to local multiplayer only — while we have others serving up regional online play...
Working on Nintendo hardware "makes you feel legit"
While we're yet to quite see the promised influx of games onto the Wii U eShop, the lengthy list of projects in development is certainly exciting for download gamers. Small and independent developers could play an integral role in how attractive Nintendo's platform is to its adopters, and one...
It's safe to say the 3DS messaging is doing fine
It's a common refrain for critics of Nintendo to state that it doesn't do marketing well. Some may see adverts featuring celebrities or colourful trailers of smiling children and despair, as there's often a sense that in targeting families and young gamers with much of its advertising the company...
Spin attacks, Wii Fit Trainers, a posing Pit and more
Another working week has begun, but we have Masahiro Sakurai's updates on the Miiverse Super Smash Bros. Director's Room community to get us off to the perfect start. The man with a plan may not be ready to tell us when we can expect the new Super Smash Bros. games to arrive on Wii U and 3DS, but...
While heavy handed with Swapnote, providing a clean environment is crucial
Nintendo has made some interesting headlines recently here on Nintendo Life, as it's acted proactively to avoid potentially embarrassing issues with Nintendo Letter Box / Swapnote and the Japan-only (so far) Flipnote Studio 3D. The company disabled SpotPass communication...
So many ruined SD cards...
It's the time of year during which a lot of people skulk around yelling "Boo!" As a video games review website, however, we prefer to boo terrible games. After all, isn't it the least bit frightening that these shambling, creeping monstrosities are out there trying to steal your money? We certainly lose sleep over it! In...
Zombies, vampires, desolation, isolation and all that good stuff
It's that night, dear readers, when ghouls and monsters emerge from their pits of despair to torment the living. Or, another way of looking at it, children in rather inexpensive outfits come out to threaten adults with a good egging if they don't hand over sweets and candies. What a...
As the latest financial reports show, the time is now
Every three months we gain an insight into Nintendo's fortunes, with details on finances and sales information for different regions around the world. When it comes to solid numbers for hardware and software sales, the quarterly financial results reported by the Kyoto-based company can tell us...
Time to dust off that slab of plastic in preparation for Wii Fit U
Wii Fit U's special trial deal begins this Friday, and will no doubt trigger a fitness frenzy amongst flabby Wii U owners all over the globe. However, a lot of time has elapsed between the incredible popularity of the Wii original and the launch of this new title, and like so many...
One crown to rule them all
In this personal reminiscence, Martin Watts describes his experience of playing Super Mario 3D World in multiplayer, and how it exposes our greatest flaws of character... Last week, Features Editor Thomas Whitehead and I were invited along to Nintendo UK's offices for a bit of hands-on time with one of Nintendo's most...
A Lost World appears, Mega Man meets Pikachu, a risky flight and more
Monday's light relief is here, once again, courtesy of Masahiro Sakurai's posts on the Super Smash Bros. Director's Room on Miiverse. We may not know when we can play this game — yes, we saw the rumoured release dates, but there's not enough salt in the earth for those right now...
Tom Whitehead's frustrated at the untapped potential of the Virtual Console
OK, I'll join the club and say it. The Wii U and, to a degree, the 3DS Virtual Console are becoming rather frustrating, stale affairs. There's something odd that, years after working through the NES library on the Wii, we're now doing it all over again, despite the fact...
"We’ve always been keen to work on 3DS"
While much recent attention has focused on titles on the way to the Wii U eShop, we shouldn't forget that the 3DS store has a prominent role to play in the coming months and years. We've gradually seen the library grow, with plenty of developers using the portable system as their point of entry into...
Some of us have to be a bit secretive
It's time for the WGAYPTW feature to stop goofing off and join the real world, as it prepares to leave the teen existence for a life or work and drudgery. Or it'll carry on in such a grey, oppressive world as a beacon of frivolous gaming, where weekends are lost in our favourite pursuit. Yeah, let's go for the...
