Wii News

February2014

January2014

December2013

November2013

  • News Rune Factory Developer Neverland Closes Its Doors

    Where now for Rune Factory 5?

    After a sluggish financial performance due to business changes, Rune Factory developer Neverland has announced it will be closing its doors. The Japanese company made the announcement via its official website, explaining that its financial status had deteriorated considerably in recent times. After failing to raise the...

  • News Black Friday Madness Arrives in the UK, Too

    Plenty of Nintendo options to consider

    Black Friday used to be a single insane shopping day mainly limited to North America, potentially causing bemusement in other parts of the world seeing footage of enormous crowds fighting over discounted nappies. But still, like all things that make retailers and companies lots of money it's expanded, to the...

  • Weirdness Wii Love This Nintendo Polar Bear

    Fashioned entirely from Wii controllers

    Christmas is fast approaching, soon you'll see that Coca-Cola advert on TV, but what better way to get into the festive spirit than a Nintendo polar bear made from 142 pieces of Nintendo gaming history? John Lewis, famed for its lavish Christmas advertisements and decorations, has a new display at its flagship...

  • News Miyamoto: Nintendo Has Unfinished Business With Super Mario Galaxy Series

    Release of Super Mario 3D World got in the way

    Following on from Super Mario 3D World producer Yoshiaki Koizuma comments about the possibility of the Mario series returning to an open-world style approach if there was enough demand for it, EAD General Manager Shigeru Miyamoto has now assured fans in the latest Iwata Asks Interview that the...

  • News Activision Rolls Out Transformers Combo Packs For Wii And DS

    Just in time for Christmas

    While it's easy to get excited about the new games coming to the Wii U and 3DS, it's worth remembering that there are an awful lot of Wii and DS consoles out in the wild, and plenty of people still rely on these superseded formats for their interactive entertainment — hence Activision's recent announcement of...

  • News Famitsu Reveals Japan's Best Selling Games Of The 21st Century

    New Super Mario Claims Top Spot

    Japanese video game publication Famitsu has just unveiled the top 100 Best Selling Video Games in Japan for the 21st Century (the period 1st January 2001 until 29th September 2013), and as expected Nintendo games feature heavily, with nine of the top ten games being for Nintendo platforms — seven of which are for...

  • News Nintendo Releases Handy Wii U Comparison Chart

    Spot the difference

    Since its launch, consumers — and even some retailers — have had trouble differentiating between the Wii U and its older sibling, the Wii. In a move to help consumers clearly distinguish between the two consoles, Nintendo has distributed a comparison chart detailing the different features of the Wii U and the Wii. The chart...

  • News Nintendo Updates Available Club Nintendo Reward Games in North America

    Better start counting those coins

    Update: WiiWare title Art Style: Cubello is also available as a reward until 8th December, at a cost of 150 coins. Original Article: Nintendo has updated its North American Club Nintendo Rewards service with three new games to download. From now until the 8th December 2013, users who have enough Club Nintendo...

  • News Take A Look At The Red Steel 2 We Never Got To Play

    Leaked production screens show a different style

    Red Steel was Ubisoft's big Wii launch title many years ago, and despite its cool visuals, it didn't quite get the gameplay right. Ubisoft atoned for its sins to a certain extent with Red Steel 2, but the game was almost unrecognisable thanks to a totally different "Samurai Western" setting. However,...

  • News The Wii Mini Will Arrive in the U.S. in November

    Includes a copy of Mario Kart Wii and will cost $99

    Back in December 2012 we imported a Wii Mini from Canada — before it was confirmed for Europe — and gave our assessment in a hardware review. Here's what we said in summary: The Wii Mini is, as we were largely aware - a scaled-down version of Nintendo's best-selling system. The lack of online...

  • News Super Mario Galaxy Is Eurogamer's Game of the Generation

    It's not a Golden Joystick, but it'll do

    Over the past 10 days or so, our friends over at Eurogamer have been charting the best games of the past generation - a feat that's easier said than done. Naturally, we kept an eye on proceedings, looking out for any Nintendo titles that might crop up. We watched blockbuster after blockbuster take the...

October2013

September2013

  • News Splinter Cell Blacklist Homeland DLC Available Now on Wii U

    Missions, weapons and gear included

    Splinter Cell Blacklist is Ubisoft's latest entry in one of its most popular franchises, blending its recent focus on action with the option — should you prefer — of reverting back to the classic sneaking for which the series is renowned. As is standard for any high-profile triple-A title, there's optional...

  • News Lifetime Sales for the 3DS Have Now Surpassed the Wii in Japan

    Cripes...

    It's a weekly theme here at Nintendo Life that we report the ups and downs in the Japanese software and hardware charts, yet in the case of the 3DS it's often almost exclusively ups. It tops the hardware results almost every week, occasionally outselling all other system combined, and has a reliable set of ever-green titles in the software...

  • News Ubisoft Reveals Full Just Dance 2014 Tracklist

    Daft Punk, Lady Gaga, ABBA and a bloke called PSY all feature

    Just Dance 2014 will be grooving its way onto Wii U and Wii in early October and Ubisoft has now revealed the full list of tracks you can jive along to. It's set to feature a blend of old and new, with artists such as Bob Marley and ABBA standing alongside Lady Gaga, One Direction,...

  • News Four Turbografx-16 Games Return to the Wii Virtual Console in PAL Territories

    A rather pleasant surprise

    The Wii Virtual Console was not only the first of its kind on Nintendo hardware, but it had terrific diversity in the platforms and games that it offered; we'll have to see how far the Wii U Virtual Console progresses on those terms. One of the platforms that was supported, giving excellent opportunities to those that...

  • News Publishers Reveal Sales Figures for Skylanders and Disney Infinity

    Activision and Disney prepare themselves for a festive battle

    The war between the two major players in the figurine beaming adventure game genre has been raging lately what with the release of Disney Infinity last month. Naturally, the ambitious project takes a lot of influence from Activision's Skylanders series and according to Disney Interactive...

  • News Nintendo Cleared in Wii Patent Dispute With Creative Kingdoms

    It threatened the U.S. import of Wii systems

    Nintendo has to regularly defend itself in patent disputes, winning in many cases with the occasional exception. While the 3DS screen technology loss to Tomita Technologies USA could cost Nintendo $15.1 million, other cases have the potential to prevent imports of Nintendo systems to major territories —...

  • News 2013 Skylanders Champion Walks Away With All 56 Swap Force Figures

    Quite a prize

    At an event in London’s Olympic Park, James Tubb (9) was crowned Official Skylanders Champion. He not only wins the crown but also every Swap Force figure. Nice haul! The Official Skylanders championships started out in various UK regions in GAME stores. Each of these qualifier events called Skylanders fans to come into the store...

  • News Four New Titles Added to Wii "Nintendo Selects" Budget Range in Europe

    Karting chaos, brawling and monkeying around included

    Late last week Nintendo of America revealed three Wii classics getting a price reduction in the region ahead of the Holiday season. Nintendo of Europe is now making the same move, in its case adding four new titles to the Nintendo Selects range. Although recommended prices aren't provided in...

  • News Just Dance Steps Up To 5 Million Sales in the UK

    The series has been most successful on Wii so far

    Ubisoft has confirmed Just Dance has now sold over 5 million units in the UK, with the Wii being the most successful platform for the series. The French publisher revealed the numbers just before the launch of Just Dance 2014, which is set to land on Wii U and Wii, as well as PlayStation 3 and Xbox...

  • News The Wonderful 101 Could Have Been Released on Wii

    Wii U eventually became the console of choice

    The Wonderful 101 has been out on Wii U for a good few weeks now in Europe and Japan, but it all could have been so different as Hideki Kamiya, the director behind the unique title, has revealed it was tentatively scheduled for a Wii release instead. In an interview with USgamer, Kamiya said the game...

  • Rumour Nintendo Set To Rename The Wii U Facebook Page

    It'll soon be known as "Nintendo Console Gaming"

    Earlier today we reported that the 3DS Facebook page would be getting a name change after several people received emails from the social network telling them that from 19th September it would be known as "Nintendo Handheld Gaming". Well, it appears Nintendo has also decided to go down the same route...

  • News Three Wii Classics Get A Price Reduction in North America

    Two Mario titles and a visit to Wuhu Island now available for $29.99

    Part of Nintendo's push for the Holiday season is to promote the good value of its various systems and games, and with that in mind Nintendo of America has confirmed three major Wii titles that, as of today, will have a suggested retail price of just $29.99 in the region. These are...

  • News Club Nintendo Rewards Updated for September

    Take to the skies and march with the minis

    It's that time of the month when Nintendo offers up some tasty rewards for North American Club Nintendo members to enjoy. This year really is flying by isn't it? Two Wii Shop and two 3DS eShop games will be available to download in exchange for your hard earned coins and of course Wii U owners can access...

August2013

July2013

June2013

  • News Nintendo Wins Another Patent Battle, This Time Over MotionPlus

    That legal team is on fire

    Nintendo faces its fair share of patent battles, which in most cases — not all, with a notable loss on 3DS screen technology — go the Kyoto company's way. Plenty of these disputes focus on the Wii and its various peripherals, which is more than likely due to the console's phenomenal sales success and its various...

  • News Xbox 360 Sales Set to Pass the Wii's in the UK

    Dem FPS and footie gamez

    The Wii has kicked some serious booty in terms of global sales, getting close to 100 million sales and 'winning', at the time of writing, its generation of systems. That impressive success can mask the fact that the diminutive console has seen momentum go off the cliff since early 2012, as games dried up and the Wii U...

  • News Angry Birds Trilogy Flocks to Wii and Wii U in August

    Just when you thought the piggies were safe...

    If by chance you're one of the three people that hasn't yet played Rovio's mega-popular Angry Birds series, or prefer to play your pig-killing physics puzzlers on the big screen, you're in luck — Rovio has announced that Angry Birds Trilogy will launch on both Wii and Wii U in North America as retail...

  • News A Study Suggests the Wii Could be Used to Improve the Balance of Parkinson's Sufferers

    Could reduce fall risks as part of exercise routine

    We know the Wii brand has often been promoted to push activity and fitness, but a preliminary study reported in Medpage Today suggests that Wii games, and specifically the Balance Board, can play a role in strengthening the balance of Parkinson’s patients. According to the report, the “use of...

  • News Nintendo Succeeds in Wii Fit Balance Board Patent Appeal

    Original decision in the company's favour is upheld

    Nintendo, and particularly the Wii, have faced a number of patent challenges in recent years. In most cases Nintendo has emerged as the victor, with a loss on the 3DS screen technology being a rare blip. The big N has faced challenges to its Wii Remote, in particular, and various devices and gizmos...

  • Review Sengoku 3 (Wii Virtual Console / Neo Geo)

    Third time's the charm

    While SNK was far more well known for its one-on-one fighting games, it did toss out a few beat 'em ups along the way. Some of the attempts were better than others: Sengoku 3 is one such example. It basically takes many of the solid gameplay perks of the first two games and amps things up considerably. Toss in a fresh coat of...

  • News FIFA 14 Is Coming To Nintendo Consoles After All - Except The Wii U

    Coming to a Wii and 3DS near you

    In April this year, Electronic Arts announced the newest addition to its FIFA franchise, FIFA 14. Sadly, the Wii U wasn't shown in the initial line-up, but EA promised other consoles would be revealed at a later date. It didn't help that before this, EA confessed that Madden NFL would be skipping a Nintendo console...

  • News Activision Bringing Skylanders Swap Force And Call of Duty: Ghosts To E3

    "This is obviously a big year"

    There has been a lot of confusion surrounding Call of Duty: Ghosts, the latest in Activision's long-running franchise. Nobody seems to definitively know if it's coming to Wii U or not. When it was announced in early May, the publisher did not mention Nintendo's home console, however, since then several media outlets...

  • Feature The Humble Origins of Animal Crossing

    How an obscure little N64 title grew into a hit franchise for Nintendo

    The hype and excitement for Animal Crossing: New Leaf across the web is reaching a critical level. Hitting North America on 9th June and Europe on 14th June, it begs the question whether some people might literally explode as a result of not being able to contain their...

  • News Armature Studios Gains Another Ex-Retro Staff Member

    Donkey Kong Country Returns designer Tom Ivey moves on

    As we all know, Armature is a company founded by former Retro Studios staff members — and it would appear that they've added another to their ranks. According to his CV on LinkedIn, Tom Ivey — who was one of the designers on Donkey Kong Country Returns, which was recently ported to the 3DS...

  • Video Disney's Planes Trailer Flies Into View

    Exclusive to Nintendo systems

    Earlier this year it was confirmed that Disney's Planes will be coming exclusively to Nintendo systems, covering Wii U, Wii, 3DS and DS. It'll arrive in North America on 6th August, just before the film arrives on 9th August; as most of you probably already know — or will have guessed — this is a follow up to the...

May2013