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 Reggie Wonders Where Metroid: Other M Sales Went Wrong
Why did Samus underperform?
Metroid: Other M divided gamers: many loved its combination of action, exploration and conversation, whilst others hated the new portrayal of traditionally less vocal heroine Samus Aran, amongst other things. All this equated to disappointing sales for Nintendo, the title sitting at around the half-million mark in the US...
News Fluidity Flows to North America on December 6th
Wet your appetite
Whilst Europeans can experience Hydroventure on Christmas Eve, WiiWare fans in North America get a small headstart, as the game will be released on December 6th under the name Fluidity. Priced at 1200 Points, the game is a physics-based platformer based on the three states of water: steam, liquid and ice. Players have to master...
News Limited Edition Mario Kart Wii Bundle Under Starter's Orders
Wii, Remote Plus and the game
Want a Wii this Christmas but not interested in the red machine with New Super Mario Bros. Wii? This dark beauty might be of interest to you, then. Nintendo Europe has just announced a limited edition black Wii bundle featuring racer Mario Kart Wii, a black Wii Wheel, Wii Sports and Donkey Kong pre-installed on the...
News Mario Sports Mix Gets a Little Square Enix Boost
Famous faces face-off
Square Enix's next Mario sports title, Mario Sports Mix, isn't just about characters from the Mushroom Kingdom: the company has just confirmed it'll be bringing some of its own most popular characters to the title as well. Joining Mario and chums will be characters from the Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest series, with a Moogle,...
News Dropping Tetrominoes Might Help with Post Traumatic Stress
Stacking blocks good for you
Anyone who's played Tetris – i.e. everyone ever – can attest to its soothing qualities as they stack block after block aiming to create those lovely lines. Now a new study suggests that playing the game isn't just good for fun, it may help to reduce the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder. Scientific journal...
News Sega Creates an Animal Crossing to Promote Sonic Colours
Wordplay!
Okay, so Sega isn't really creating an instalment in Nintendo's happiest franchise Animal Crossing, but the blue and white company did create a safe hedgehog crossing point in London to promote this Friday's release of Sonic Colours for Wii and DS. With 50,000 hedgehogs a year lacking the speed to cross British roads safely, Sega dedicated...
Review Rytmik: Rock Edition (DSiWare)
Rock solid
The original Rytmik completely surpassed our expectations of what a portable music studio could do within the constraints of DSiWare. Now the follow-up Rytmik: Rock Edition is here with a very different sound and new features, but crucially more of the same surprising control and musical freedom. If you haven’t dabbled with Rytmik yet,...
News Dive into Conduit 2's Special Edition Only at Gamestop
Art, skins and extra in-game goodies
If you're excited about Conduit 2 this Gamestop-exclusive special edition package might just ramp up your giddy-o-meter just a notch or two. Available online or in-store at $49.99, the bundle includes a 44-page art book, an enhancement for the All Seeing Eye and an exclusive multiplayer skin, which isn't a bad...
News Hydroventure Guarantees a Wet Christmas for Europe
Lands on Christmas Eve
Fluidity, known as Hydroventure in Europe, is set to make a splash on the European WiiWare servers on December 24th, priced at 1200 Points, with a free demo dropping in on the same day. Developed and published by Nintendo, Hydroventure is one of the most anticipated WiiWare releases of the next few months. Essentially the game...
News Chrono Twins DX Joins the Demo Ranks on Friday
One more for the pile
The return of WiiWare demos to Europe is truly a reason to be cheerful, but even more so when it receives new trials like this Friday. Accompanying the update this week is a playable demo of Chronos Twins DX from EnjoyUp. We gave the game a thorough shake and came up with our Chronos Twins DX review, but if you've missed the...
News Europe's FATE is Dated for November 19th
That's a week on Friday, folks
The latest entry in the BIT.TRIP series, BIT.TRIP FATE, is blasting its way to WiiWare next Friday, November 19th. The first out-and-out shooter in the series, FATE still revels in the customary retro aesthetics for which Gaijin Games is now famous. You can read our BIT.TRIP FATE review to get geared up for this one.
News Get Strategic on DSiWare with Glory Days - Tactical Defense
From the team behind Pop Island
Pop Island and follow-up Pop Island: Paperfield are among the best-looking titles on DSiWare, and now developer odenis studio is putting that graphical grunt to a different use in the form of Glory Days - Tactical Defense. A military-styled take on tower defence, Glory Days sees you building bases, rocket launchers...
News Get Your First Look at Black Ops Campaign Mode on Wii
Updated: Campaign and multiplayer footage
There's been close to radio silence on Call of Duty: Black Ops for Wii, but now the game is available in the wild the first direct feed footage of the campaign mode has arrived courtesy of Official Nintendo Magazine. The 18-rated footage focuses on a three-man team attempting to take down Fidel Castro in a...
News If Donkey Kong Country Returns is Too Hard, Use Super Guide
Like the Force, only more monkey-like
Remember the controversial Super Guide from New Super Mario Bros. Wii and Super Mario Galaxy 2? If not, it's one of Nintendo's newest software features to keep gamers interested by allowing them to proceed past difficult parts of stages if they lose too many lives there. Whether you liked it or not it's here to...
News La-Mulana Fails Nintendo Approval Process
Unlikely to make it this year
When we heard that La-Mulana was finished, submitted and out this year we did a little jump for joy at the prospect of playing the underground adventure before 2011 rolls around. Now that seems unlikely, as the game has failed Nintendo's submission process. LA-MULANA was said “No good” by Nintendo, then it has...
Competition chick chick BOOM (All PAL Regions)
Win one of 10 copies and personalised artwork!
chick chick BOOM is a tactical action game for WiiWare from developer tons of bits. With a unique sense of humour, great artwork and plenty of action, it gained an impressive 8/10 in our review last week, and now we've teamed up with tons of bits to bring you a very special competition. We're offering...
Nintendo Download 8th November 2010 (North America)
No demos here
Whilst Europe welcomed the return of WiiWare demos last week, there's no such luck for North American gamers, who are demo-less for at least one more week. There's still a decent mix however with five games in total, if you could call Discolight a game. WiiWare: Gods vs. Humans (Zallag, 1200pts) – This deity-based strategy game...
News Iwata: More Developers Interested in 3DS Than Were Into DS
Strong third-party support boasted again
3DS already has the support of major third-party publishers including Ubisoft, EA, Sega, Capcom and plenty more, but Satoru Iwata has spelled out the level of commitment from overseas companies, saying the console has more support than the DS did before launch. To say the least, our overseas publishers are...
News GoldenEye's Return Sells Twice As Well As HD Bond Outings
Still only debuts at number 13
It's not very often a Nintendo-exclusive title outsells a similar game on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, but the GoldenEye name clearly still carries appeal for UK gamers as the game comprehensively outsold HD 007 outing James Bond 007: Blood Stone. Although the Wii and DS game landed outside the UK Top Ten at number 13,...
News Miyamoto and Reggie Honour Mario's 25th with Amazing Cake
So emotional even the cake was in tiers
Nintendo's flagship New York store recently re-opened with a brand new Mario-themed design in honour of Super Mario Bros.'s 25th anniversary, and to celebrate it hosted a huge party with two very special guests. Reggie Fils-Aime and Shigeru Miyamoto made appearances at the event to meet fans, cut the cake and...
News Gothic Action Heads to WiiWare in Ark of Sinners
Like Castlevania, only Spanish
Here's a WiiWare game you can sink your teeth into: Ark of Sinners is a Castlevania-style 2D romp, mixing classic gameplay with modern graphics. Played with the Wii Remote held NES-style, with 1 button to attack and 2 to jump, there'll be multiple moves, combos and even special air combos too. The first part of a...
News You Can Gaze At This Super Mario 25th Anniversary Box Now
But you can't buy it just yet
Super Mario All-Stars 25th Anniversary Collection is on the way to the West, and here's the box art for the collection when it lands on North American shelves on December 12th. Containing Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros. The Lost Levels, Super Mario Bros. 2 and
News Digital Leisure's Mix Superstar Decks WiiWare on Monday
Get musical for 500 Points
Whilst DSiWare enjoys a fine array of musical downloads, including Rytmik, Rhythm Core Alpha and Abylight's Music On series, but WiiWare is completely devoid of tuneful tools. Not for long however, as Digital Leisure is bringing Mix Superstar to the wheels of steel on Monday. Unlike those DS games, however, Mix Superstar...
News WiiWare Gets Second Round of Heavy Fire with Black Arms
Shooter follow-up inbound
We may not have been completely blown away by wartime shooter Heavy Fire: Special Operations, but it obviously did the business for Teyon as the Polish publisher has announced it's bringing sequel Heavy Fire: Black Arms to WiiWare in the near future. There's no doubt the game looks graphically impressive, as evident in the...
