Nintendo

Crowd pleaser

Last year at E3, Nintendo promised a lot to core gamers. "Wii U will be right just for you," Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime said, playing a showreel of hardcore shooters and action games to win over the crowd. Talking heads from big publishers all crowed about the machine's capabilities and its new controller — top...

Bookmark this (updated 30th May)

With one week to go, we've put together a complete guide to this year's E3 show so you know exactly what's on offer, when and how to watch it. We've compiled a list of the major press conferences and live events and converted them into a range of time zones so you know exactly when to come to Nintendo Life to get...

Better late than never

Europe's got two Inazuma Eleven games for DS but not the Wii entry Inazuma Eleven Strikers that came out in Japan in July 2011. Well, never say never, as Level-5's registered a trademark for the game in Europe. The Wii version follows the DS game's lead by blending football with RPG elements, but naturally with polygon...

Prepare to dance

This weekend's MCM Expo will give UK Nintendo fans the chance to play some upcoming titles for 3DS and Wii for the first time. Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance and Beat the Beat: Rhythm Paradise are the headliners, but there's also Heroes of Ruin, Mario Tennis Open and

From NES to Wii U

In over 25 years of home consoles, Nintendo's done more than just produce ever-improving gaming systems that give us more complex, better-looking games: it's also been a major influence on how we play our games. The company has often been responsible for bringing new control schemes to the mainstream, or adapting ideas from others...

For communications and humanities

Shigeru Miyamoto has won a few major awards over the years as recognition for his exemplary contribution to the gaming industry. He's been awarded a BAFTA fellowship and was the first inductee into the Spike VGA Video Game Hall of Fame, to name just two honours. He's now been confirmed as the recipient of this...

"Next time on The Legend of Zelda..."

For more than 25 years, The Legend of Zelda series has grapple-hooked the hearts of gamers across the globe. Thanks to the consistent quality of its library of titles, the Zelda brand has generated a worldwide recognition that few games achieve and has become the standard by which all other action-adventure...

But slower than DS

According to Pocket Gamer, 3DS is on the cusp of hitting the 1 million sales mark in the United Kingdom. The site claims the console sits just below 950k units after 61 weeks on shelves. By comparison, the original DS sold its first million after 51 weeks, so 3DS clearly still has some ground to make up. Last year Nintendo of...

Straight from the horse's mouth

You might think your E3 experience starts and ends with Nintendo's press conference on 5th June? Not so, with two more dates and times to add to your diary. As well as streaming the press conference itself, Nintendo will also offer two exclusive videos at http://e3.nintendo.com. Here's the full rundown, in order...

Watch everywhere, really

Nintendo will once again stream its E3 press conference online at http://e3.nintendo.com, as well as via Facebook and on TV on Spike or MTV2. There'll also be game footage and developer interviews on Nintendo's YouTube channels. Of course we'll be bringing you live coverage, news, media and more as it happens so make sure...

Smash and grab

Mario Tennis Open launches in the UK next week, and Nintendo is launching a nationwide treasure hunt for you to grab multicoloured Yoshis. On 25th and 26th May select Asda stores will give away the Black Yoshi via a special in-store QR code: scan it with your 3DS and Black Yoshi is yours to keep. Nintendo will release white, blue and...

You'll see what we mean

The augmented reality games bundled with the 3DS are all well and good, but many of you want more. Nintendo's applied for a patent on a new colour-based AR concept that would make a very welcome addition to the system's AR suite. The document refers to using colour to influence the game world, giving several intriguing...

Drag and drop

So far a lot of the Wii U video and technology has focused on how one player will use the Wii U controller and others will use Wii Remotes, but a new patent shows the potential for a single player using both controllers together. The patent outlines how a player could use the Wii Remote to interact with both the TV and Wii U...

Nintendo lays down shiny gauntlets

Every time Nintendo announces an event somewhere in the world, the response is always the same: "why couldn't it be where I live?" That won't be a problem on 19th May, as Nintendo is encouraging fans all over the world to hold their own events for Kid Icarus: Uprising. Designating 19th May as...

Commence updating!

The exploit-fixing update for Mario Kart 7 is available now. It patches up glaring shortcuts in the game's Wuhu Island Loop, Wuhu Mountain Loop and GBA Bowser Castle 1 courses. You won't be able to play online if you don't download the update, so hopefully this'll level the online playing field. Here's how to update your game: 1)...

So cheer up

Last week we learnt that Nintendo Japan is discontinuing the Aqua Blue 3DS, and we anxiously wondered what it might mean for us in the West. We've heard back from Nintendo Europe now and it's good news. The official line is that "this announcement is only for the Japanese market", meaning there should be a steady stream of Aqua...

Mario makes a clean sweep

Nintendo UK has just revealed all-time sales charts for Wii's Virtual Console, and it contains a sum total of zero surprises. On NES, legendary platformer Super Mario Bros. 3 sits atop the chart, just above Super Mario Bros. and, strangely, Pac-Man. SNES players favour Super Mario World over all others, with

Taking a swing

Remember Nintendo's bold new vision for sports games on Wii U, shown off at E3 last year? It's dead serious about making it a reality, applying for a patent on its concept for golf. The patent pertains to using the new controller on the ground to see the lie of the ball, but it goes into more detail, revealing it's possible to 'miss'...

Holiday week brings extra sales

It's time for the weekly Japanese charts update, and if you've been reading these articles for the past couple of months you'll already know the story: Nintendo dominates sales in its homeland. The company's performance around the world may be a mixed bag at present, but results in Japan rarely let Satoru Iwata and...

Soft sell

An NES controller coffee table is all well and good, but we'd rather have something softer in our living room, wouldn't you? Online store Felt Sew Good just opened up and sells a range of cute cushions based on retro gaming consoles and controllers. NES, SNES, Game Boy and more are all represented in adorable form; there's even a Speak...

It’s all about day one

In the coming weeks, as we build up to the excitement and madness of E3 2012, we’re going to reflect on some major Nintendo console launches from the past. We won’t necessarily cover them all in this series, but we’ll be looking at some notable console arrivals and thinking about why these system launches were...

Even if you don't go you can still dress up

Nintendo UK is currently in the middle of a Kid Icarus: Uprising event tour, giving plucky gamers a chance to take on a 'battle squad' of professional gamers in multiplayer. Participants at the first event at HMV Oxford Circus in London received limited edition posters, while those who triumphed over the...

It's from Super Mario Bros. 2, if you didn’t know

By the mid 1980s the world had fallen in love with a stocky Italian plumber named Mario. With the release of Super Mario Bros. on NES, the gaming icon left an indelible boot-shaped impression on the minds of gamers around the world and forever changed the landscape of the video game industry...

Lots of kingdoms to conquer

Pokémon Conquest, a translated version of Japanese title Pokémon + Nobunaga's Ambition, is getting ever closer for gamers in North America. With the 18th June release date approaching, Nintendo has started to release details about the title and what 'mon fans can expect. With 17 kingdoms to conquer, and these being...