Author Profile
James started his career in video games as News Editor on Nintendo Life. Since leaving in 2012 to join Nintendo of Europe, James has risen through the ranks to become NoE's Senior Product PR & Corporate Communications Manager.
News Organise a Big Kid Icarus Event, Win Prizes
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...
News If Only This F-Zero 3DS Advert Was Real
All a dream
Eyeball-melting speed and glasses-free 3D would be such a happy combination. While Nintendo stays silent on the future of F-Zero, fan Jan Neves has taken the initiative and created a trailer for the smartly named F-Zero 3DX. Footage from F-Zero GX blends with the Blue Falcon flying out of the 3DS top screen. If Nintendo ever does publish...
News Ubisoft Readying Seven Wii U Games
Let's play the name game
Ubisoft's throwing its considerable weight behind Wii U with no fewer than seven games in development, CEO Yves Guillemot has revealed. Speaking to investors (as reported by GamesIndustry.biz) Guillemot confirmed the publisher is a "very strong" supporter of Wii U, with five casual and two core titles in the works...
News Ben 10 and Friends Join Wii U Line-Up
Omniverse us
The Wii U announcements are coming thick and fast these days. Last week it was Marvel Avengers: Battle for Earth and Cloudberry Kingdom; this week it's Ben 10: Omniverse. D3Publisher's next outing for the boy with multiple personalities will reach every current Nintendo format later this year, with development on the home console...
Review Sonic Labyrinth (3DS eShop / GG)
Maze craze
Failed game pitches from the 1990s: Madden without the ball. Mario without the jumping. Sonic without the speed. Except someone at SEGA must have thought the last one was a good idea, and gave Minato Giken the go-ahead to develop Sonic Labyrinth for Game Gear. As the story goes, Dr. Robotnik has tricked Sonic into wearing special shoes...
News Two Pokémon Apps Bound for eShop in the West
Go pro
Nintendo's confirmed that we'll see two pieces of Pokémon software hit the eShop this autumn. Pokémon Dream Radar and Pokédex 3D Pro will come to Europe and North America later this year, just ahead of the release of Pokémon Black & White 2 for DS. Dream Radar is a Face Raiders-like experience that sees you catch Pokémon in the real...
News 10 Minutes of English Kingdom Hearts 3D Footage
Mouse click
Three months ago we brought you a Japanese trailer for Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance, and now we bring you the same video in English. You've only got a few more months to wait until Sora and friends land in the West in 3D. Make the wait go quicker by watching the video repeatedly. And no, sadly that isn't Jeff Bridges' real...
News Mario Kart 7 Update Available Now
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)...
News Make Your Own Movies in Pokémon Black and White 2
Frame and focus
Pokémon Black & White 2 land later this year with all the gotta-catch-'em-all action you could want, but if you fancy taking a break from animal slavery you can always try your hand at animal acting with the game's new "Pokéwood" mode. The addition lets you create miniature movies using your Pokémon, picking dialogue...
News Goooooal Europa 2012 Has the Best Name on DSiWare
Count those Os
Let's play a game. You're Cinemax, a DSiWare developer, and you're making a game about table football. Your past games have gone for the direct route when it comes to names: 90's Pool, Rytmik and, of course, Calculator. You're working on a table football game — what do you call it? If you went for Table Football 2012, sorry — not...
News Chronicles of Vampires Reawakens on DSiWare This Week
Monster, monster
Teyon's Chronicles of Vampires series reaches its horrific conclusion this week in Chronicles of Vampires: The Awakening, heading to DSiWare on Thursday. The 500 Point download is a blend of the puzzle and hidden object genres, so should be right at home on DSiWare. Last year we had Chronicles of Vampires: Origins, which admittedly...
News Gear Up for 99Seconds on 31st May
Release date revealed
EnjoyUp Games' next DSiWare game, 99Seconds, will hit North America on 31st May for 200 Nintendo Points. The retro-styled avoid-everything game comes just over a year after 99Bullets, a similarly old-school title about shooting. Now you have no bullets, just 99 seconds to survive, unless you pick up the extra time capsules that...
News Wii Pikmin 2 Hits North America on 10th June for $19.99
Among other price drops
The long-awaited Pikmin 2 on Wii reaches North America on 10th June for $19.99. Dropping the New Play Control! monicker, the enhanced romp launches as part of the Nintendo Selects range. It'll be joined by another Wii-enhanced remake, Mario Power Tennis, coming to Nintendo Selects for the first time. There are other price...
News Aqua Blue 3DS Discontinuation Only Affects Japan
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...
Nintendo Download 17th May 2012 (Europe)
Kirby and birds
Two games and a demo for 3DS owners this week, while Wii owners get a free slice of gaming too. 3DS Virtual Console: Kirby's Dream Land 2 (Game Boy, Nintendo, £3.60/€4) — Witness the debut of Kirby's helpful animal friends in this enjoyable little platformer. We've already got the first Kirby's Dream Land so we'll see if the...
News Europe Gets Rayman Origins 3DS Demo This Week
Grab it
European 3DS owners can give Rayman's next adventure a fair shake when the eShop updates with a Rayman Origins demo this week. Come Thursday you'll be able to try out the portable port of the limbless hero's latest — and some would say greatest — adventure, ahead of the full game's release in a few weeks' time. Is this one you'll be...
News These Are the UK's Biggest Selling Virtual Console Games
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
News La-Mulana Director Would Welcome Offers from Publishers
Go ahead, make his day
Nicalis won't publish La-Mulana on WiiWare in the West, but that doesn't mean the game is entirely, 100% stone cold dead. We asked La-Mulana director Takumi Naramura if he and the Nigoro team would continue to pursue a western release through another publisher, to which he replied: The game is completed, we welcome the offer...
News Nintendo Japan Discontinues Aqua Blue 3DS
Cobalt from the blue
Nintendo of Japan will soon end production of the Aqua Blue 3DS console. The company's 3DS page lists the currently available colours, with Aqua Blue bearing the note "scheduled to end production shortly" (近日生産終了予定). In March, Nintendo released the Cobalt Blue 3DS for Japan, so it makes sense to stick...
News Cloudberry Kingdom Will Be Wii U's Most Difficult Download Game
We mean it
How hard do you like your old-school 2D platformers? Was Super Meat Boy too easy for you? Then check out Cloudberry Kingdom, a new download game coming to Wii U later this year. Pwnee Studios is so confident in Cloudberry Kingdom's relentless difficulty it's promising to give $1,000 to the first person to complete it on the hardest...
News Dynasty Warriors VS Won't Come Westward
Region locked
Dynasty Warriors VS won't leave Japan. Tecmo Koei community manager Chin Soon Sun made the pronouncement on Twitter: Dynasty Warriors VS (for the Nintendo 3DS) - This title is for Japan only & will not be localized and released for / in overseas. Shame — we wanted to enjoy some feudal fighting dressed as Link and Samus.
News Xenoblade and Kid Icarus Missing from NPD's April Chart
For different reasons
The NPD Group has published its list of best-sellers across the United States for April, but two of Nintendo's biggest titles are nowhere to be seen. Xenoblade Chronicles' exclusivity deal with GameStop meant it wasn't eligible for the top ten. Before the official chart analysts from PiperJaffray had predicted the...
News Kirby's Dream Land 2 Reaches Europe Next Week
£3.60 a go
Kirby's back on the 3DS Virtual Console in Europe next week as Kirby's Dream Land 2 hits home. The Game Boy sequel lands on 17th May for £3.60 and features classic Kirby characters like King Dedede, plus the first appearances of helpers Rick the Hamster, Kine the Fish and Coo the Owl. With Kirby's Dream Land already on 3DS VC and...
News Ubisoft Announces Avengers Game for Wii U
Battle for Earth
The film's already out — good, isn't it? — but there's no video game tie-in for The Avengers. Not yet anyway, as Ubisoft's just announced Marvel Avengers: Battle for Earth for Wii U. The motion-controlled superhero game will come to the console later this year with 20 different Marvel characters in tow, so expect to see all the...
