Thomas Whitehead

Thomas Whitehead

Former Editor, Nintendo Life

Author Profile

Tom has been involved in the games industry for over a decade, mostly writing about it or struggling to sell Indie games. Loves reading, writing, hunting Capcom’s fiercest monsters and watching baseball.

Having joined the site in 2011, Tom took over as Editor three years later, ably steering the good ship Nintendo Life through the Wii U waters and safely into the Switch era. He now serves as a Producer at PM Studios.

Username
ThomasBW84
Articles
11,883 (257 reviews)
First Article
Wed 26th, January 2011
Avg. Review Score
6.8
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  • Satoru Iwata Provides the Ultimate Wii U Unboxing

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    News Satoru Iwata Provides the Ultimate Wii U Unboxing

    Shaky YouTube videos, begone!

    Whenever new consoles hit the market, we see a glut of shaky-cam unboxing videos on YouTube, which we may watch out of sheer curiosity. In a surprising sequence in today's Nintendo Direct, however, Satoru Iwata provided his own video, albeit with much higher production values, which he called the Wii U Premium Pack...

  • Wii U Chat To Include Drawing on GamePad Screen

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    News Wii U Chat To Include Drawing on GamePad Screen

    We fear the consequences

    One of the smaller demonstrations in today's Wii U Nintendo Direct was that for Wii U Chat, the feature briefly shown prior to E3. Using the GamePad stand — though simply holding the controller is an option — Satoru Iwata called up Nintendo of America boss Reggie Fils-Aime for a chat. Reggie did even say a few lines in...

  • Wii U User Accounts and Nintendo Network ID Detailed

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    News Wii U User Accounts and Nintendo Network ID Detailed

    12 user accounts allowed

    During today's Nintendo Direct broadcast, Satoru Iwata provided information on Wii U user accounts and the Nintendo Network ID. In terms of user accounts, it'll be possible to have up to 12 on the system, with each storing their own save data, settings and internet browser bookmarks. With the console's concept of being an...

  • Watch The Japanese Wii U Presentation Live

    26

    Nintendo Direct Watch The Japanese Wii U Presentation Live

    Miiverse time, at last

    So here we are, another Nintendo Direct broadcast to sink our teeth into, with the focus expected to be on Miiverse. The great news is that you can watch it right here: 11am UK time, 12pm Central European time, 6am Eastern, 5am Central and 3am Pacific. It'll be in Japanese, of course, but we'll be watching with you and...

  • Wii U Will Require Day One Update for Key Features

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    News Wii U Will Require Day One Update for Key Features

    Miiverse, Wii U Chat, eShop and TVii included

    Wii U is getting so close that we can smell the packaging, and vital details about what to expect out of the box are starting to emerge. While many are no doubt hoping that preview systems will reveal Wii U's secrets to the world, it seems that we'll all have a little longer to wait. As reported by IGN,...

  • Ubisoft: Wii U Stock Apparently Being Focused on US

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    News Ubisoft: Wii U Stock Apparently Being Focused on US

    Tense times for Europe?

    Earlier today we reported that UK retailer GAME is bracing for a Wii U sell out, admitting that stock will be "tight on day one". This is a theme occurring regularly, with reports a couple of weeks ago of potential Wii U stock shortages in the UK, and the rather common knowledge that pre-orders are sold out at many US...

  • Crashmo 3D Screens Are Just a QR Code Away

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    News Crashmo 3D Screens Are Just a QR Code Away

    A sneak peak

    Crashmo — known as Fallblox in Europe — is one of the 3DS eShop's big releases due before the end of the year. As a follow up to the critically acclaimed Pushmo, it's likely to be on a number of 3DS owner's wishlists. Of course, 2D screenshots don't necessarily do this title justice, especially with the extra depth to the new...

  • Mass Effect 3 Wii U Content Detailed

    26

    News Mass Effect 3 Wii U Content Detailed

    DLC becomes on-disc C

    Mass Effect 3 was one of Wii U's major third-party announcements for a launch release, bringing one of the year's biggest blockbuster titles to the system. The excitement is perhaps dulled by the fact that it's the concluding part of a trilogy, and that a special edition combining the games, Mass Effect Trilogy, is out today...

  • Nintendo's Presidential Candidates

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    Feature Nintendo's Presidential Candidates

    The race to the Mushroom House

    Today is a big day in the United States of America, as the next President is set to be elected in an exceptionally tight race to the White House. Still, politics isn't always particularly exciting, especially when candidates don't do anything fun like defy gravity or harness special abilities. No, they're two...

  • Nintendo Teams Up With Disney For "Wii U Showdown"

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    News Nintendo Teams Up With Disney For "Wii U Showdown"

    Get ready to cringe

    With Nintendo's quest to appeal to an extraordinarily wide range of gamers, it'll be susceptible to using marketing or adverts that make the older, jaded or more cynical amongst us gnash our teeth. These celebrity-based adverts can often be categorised as good, bad or cringeworthy, and we think another candidate for the latter...

  • 8th November 2012 (Europe)

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    Nintendo Download 8th November 2012 (Europe)

    Pokédex, 3D surfing, cake slicing and troopers

    Details of this week's European update have arrived, and they're perhaps not the night sky fireworks we'd hope for at this time of year. There's still some variety across all platforms and a long awaited app arrives, though the price may surprise some. 3DS Download Software: Pokédex 3D Pro...

  • Miyamoto Working to Encourage More Wii U Third-Party Developers

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    News Miyamoto Working to Encourage More Wii U Third-Party Developers

    "I am trying to meet with the game developers individually"

    One of the big challenges facing Nintendo and its Wii U system is to encourage more third-party developers to commit to major projects on the system. While Wii had a diverse library — perhaps more so than many think — it arguably lacked a lot of big-hitting titles from third-parties...

  • Mega Man: The Wily Wars Battles Onto Genesis Portable

    20

    News Mega Man: The Wily Wars Battles Onto Genesis Portable

    Not on Virtual Console, sadly

    Ever since Virtual Console arrived on Wii, plenty of older gamers — or younger retro enthusiasts — have had lists of games that they hope to see released on the service. One such title is quite possible Mega Man: The Wily Wars, a Sega Megadrive/Genesis release that includes re-makes of the first three titles in the...

  • Splinter Cell Director Doubts Triple-A Gaming's Future

    21

    Talking Point Splinter Cell Director Doubts Triple-A Gaming's Future

    "Lower-case aaa" may take over

    While it's easy to get tangled up in technicalities when it comes to the graphical prowess of Wii U, one thing is 99% certain: the successors to Xbox 360 and PS3 will be more powerful, from a graphical standpoint. Whether or not the Wii U matches or surpasses the existing HD systems in this respect — it will take...

  • Miyamoto's Ideas for Metroid can be Found in Nintendo Land

    19

    News Miyamoto's Ideas for Metroid can be Found in Nintendo Land

    Not a bad starting point

    As you no doubt saw over the weekend, Shigeru Miyamoto recently conducted an interview with Gamekult.com, during which he shared some views on Wii U and Nintendo's most iconic characters. Some additional translated comments now provide Miyamoto's views on the Metroid franchise, and he's suggested that Wii U launch title...

  • Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward Bug Infects Save Data

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    News Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward Bug Infects Save Data

    Uh-oh

    Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward is a recent 3DS release that — though unlikely to be a big-seller — will have attracted a committed group of enthusiasts that enjoyed 999: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors on DS. While a number of gamers are no doubt enjoying the experience and its many, many endings, it's emerged that a save-breaking...

  • Developer Excited by Indie Friendly Wii U eShop

    12

    News Developer Excited by Indie Friendly Wii U eShop

    Anticipated indie title teased for Wii U

    The Wii U eShop may still be a mystery to us — a Nintendo Direct broadcast to show it off wouldn't be a surprise — but there have certainly been plenty of developers queuing up to share optimistic viewpoints on the platform. The latest to do so is a young studio called Nyamyam, founded in late 2010 by two...

  • Wii U and the Importance of Backward Compatibility

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    Talking Point Wii U and the Importance of Backward Compatibility

    Long live the Wii

    In future years, maybe even in a matter of weeks, there's likely to be plenty written about Wii and its lifespan, with judgements made on its strengths and weaknesses. The list of negatives is fairly predictable: it was underpowered, with motion controls that brought an unrelenting wave of sub-par games, it struggled for major...

  • XSEED Hints at Rune Factory 4 Localisation

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    News XSEED Hints at Rune Factory 4 Localisation

    The big tease

    The thing about developers and publishers being on social networks is that they have another means to poke and tease us gamers. Gone are the days of big announcements being exclusively in gaming magazines, and now we have pre-announcement hints of teasers. Still, it sure keeps us interested. The latest publisher to join in is XSEED,...

  • 1st November 2012 (North America)

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    Nintendo Download 1st November 2012 (North America)

    Freakiness, fast gnomz, hidden objects and cake slicing

    While some Nintendo Download updates, particularly in recent weeks, are full of juicy and exciting options, we're not sure that this is one of those occasions. Both DSi and 3DS are covered with a mixture of titles, but Wii is left out entirely; no, there isn't even a Neo Geo fighter to keep the...

  • Assassin's Creed III on Wii U Will Feature All DLC

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    News Assassin's Creed III on Wii U Will Feature All DLC

    No mention of micro-transactions, yet

    With a big-budget release on the scale of Assassin's Creed III, you can be confident that one thing will definitely make an appearance — DLC. With Wii U set to support extensive online options only rarely utilised on Wii, we'll need to get used to the idea that sometimes the game in the box won't be the final...

  • Pitchford: Wii U GamePad is Nintendo's "Best Controller" for Hardcore Games

    17

    News Pitchford: Wii U GamePad is Nintendo's "Best Controller" for Hardcore Games

    GamePad link is "direct, fast and immediate"

    Aliens: Colonial Marines, from Gearbox Software, is a high-profile multi-platform title on the list of those making their way to Wii U, with confirmation that it's due in the "launch window" — up to 31st March — which means that it may hit Nintendo's console around the same time as its February...

  • Super Punch Out!!! Goes For a Club Nintendo Knockout

    22

    News Super Punch Out!!! Goes For a Club Nintendo Knockout

    150 coins to get into the bout

    Another week, another North American Club Nintendo treat to share with you. This time around there's classic SNES action to enjoy on Wii, with Super Punch Out!!! available until 14th November and stepping up for 150 of your gold coins. To say that Little Mac's 16-bit appearance is iconic is probably an understatement,...

  • New Super Mario Bros. U Nabbit Chase Stages Revealed

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    News New Super Mario Bros. U Nabbit Chase Stages Revealed

    Dang nabbit!

    With launch less than three weeks away for lucky North American gamers, Nintendo has revealed some details for New Super Mario Bros. U. Some are well known and have previously come to light through magazine previews and other sources, such as the fact that the World Map will have a number of routes and secret exits — similar in...