January2013

  • Impressions Brain Age: Concentration Training Demo

    Fiendishly focused

    Inspired by the work of famed neuroscientist Dr. Ryuta Kawashima, Nintendo's Brain Age games aim to keep players' minds sharp through daily mental exercises, and have proven popular since the DS original, Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day!. The first 3DS entry in the series, Brain Age: Concentration Training focuses its...

  • News Emergency Maintenance Scheduled for Nintendo Online Services on 28th January

    Games and online stores affected

    It's emerged that Nintendo is planning wide-reaching "emergency maintenance" in both North America and Europe, which is likely to include other PAL territories. This maintenance is running simultaneously and in a few windows in both regions, with the greatest peak time impact being to the Wii U, Wii, 3DS and DS...

  • Feature The Big Wii U Direct Summary - 25th January 2013

    All of the details in one place

    Wii U Direct may have only been 35 minutes long, but it sure packed a lot into a short space of time, with a few extra details following in the press releases that followed. We certainly did our level best to cover everything revealed by Iwata-san in the broadcast, as well as information from Nintendo's regional...

  • Feature Nintendo Life's View - Wii U Direct

    Our team rather liked it

    When Nintendo announced Wii U Direct earlier this week, there was a mixture of fevered optimism and slight negativity, with some predicting big reveals and others expecting little more than a few release dates and trailers. Even wording promising new Wii U games was met with caution by some, but there can be little doubt...

  • News Nintendo Details Multiplayer Mode In Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon

    Update: Nintendo releases footage

    Last week we reported that Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon will include a multiplayer mode. Nintendo had done its best to keep the whole thing a secret until recently when multiplayer was listed as a feature on the game's official website. Confusion arose however, as the info bar along the side stated: "No. of Players: 1...

  • Talking Point The Wii U Virtual Console Trial Campaign's Advertising Role

    Simple but effective

    Among the many announcements in yesterday's Wii U Direct, only one had an immediate impact on console owners, with the Wii U Virtual Console Trial Campaign launching right after the broadcast. Balloon Fight is now available to download with some Wii U-exclusive features — which we'll get to later — and the release schedule...

  • News Balloon Fight On Wii U Reportedly Running At 50Hz in Europe

    Oh, Nintendo

    So, Balloon Fight is available in exchange for some loose change right now on the Wii U eShop. That's good. The download in Europe is apparently continuing the trend seen on Wii and is running at 50 Hz. That's most definitely bad. For those of you outside of Europe and unaware, back in the old days — prior to the GameCube era —...

  • News Take a Pikmin's Eye View with Pikmin 3's Camera Mode

    Shutterbug

    Just what does life look like from a Pikmin's perspective? You're not going to have to wait long to find out — Pikmin 3 will include a camera mode to let you get right down to sub-ankle height and see the world in a whole new way. We still don't have a solid release date for the third Pikmin game, but a new function of the strategy...

  • News Nintendo Launches Wii U Virtual Console Trial Campaign Today

    In celebration of the Famicom's 30th Anniversary

    Following the announcement of the Wii U Virtual Console in today's Wii U Direct, Satoru Iwata went on to announce the Trial Campaign, which is to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the original Famicom. Although the full Virtual Console doesn't officially launch until after the Spring system update,...

  • News Wii U Party Will Get The Family Together This Summer

    Party on Nintendo!

    One of the new games revealed during today’s Nintendo Direct was Wii U Party (tentative title), which is heading to Wii U this Summer and is being developed by the same team behind the original Wii Party. It has been revealed that there will be a varity of gameplay styles on offer, and of course the GamePad will be taking...

  • News Wii Fit U Gets Social With User Created Miiverse Communities

    Get fit together

    If you have over-indulged during the festive period and made a New Year’s resolution to get in shape, you will no doubt appreciate any encouragement you receive from friends and family to stay on track. During today’s Nintendo Direct it was announced that the upcoming Wii Fit U will let players create their own user communities...

  • News Satoru Iwata Tweets That Wii U Direct Will Be "A Bit Different"

    Wording suggests a look at Nintendo-specific projects

    Earlier today we brought you the news that Satoru Iwata is hosting a global Nintendo Direct Broadcast — Wii U Direct — tomorrow at 2PM GMT / 9AM EST. The press release and a subsequent tweet stated that new software and services for the home console would be on the agenda. Satoru Iwata, for...

  • Feature What You Told Us About Wii U

    Quite a lot, actually

    Not long ago we published The Big Wii U Survey, as we asked you whether you owned a Wii U and, if you do, what you think about it. The response was terrific, with over 4,300 fully completed submissions being returned to us. As promised, below is a summary of what you told us, with some surprising statistics thrown in...

  • Feature Nintendo and Bond Through the Ages

    A license to thrill

    While film tie-ins are expected these days, few games can attest to having their origins found in novels, and fewer still can claim to have outgrown those origins and become a success in their own right. But that is exactly what the James Bond franchise has done. What initially began as a series of novels by Sir Ian Fleming,...

  • News Local Multiplayer Sneaks Up On Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon

    Um, what?

    On each occasion that we've played Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon, the demo on offer has been a single-player level. The prospect of multiplayer arrived before promptly disappearing way back in November 2011, with Nintendo listing multiplayer as a feature, before saying it was all a big mistake. Yet now we have the official site for the game,...

  • News Sony and Kevin Butler Actor Settle Lawsuit Over Wii Appearance

    No more Mario Kart Wii for Jerry Lambert

    Last year we reported the peculiar news that Sony was taking 'Kevin Butler' actor Jerry Lambert to court over an appearance in a Bridgestone advert in which he was part of a Wii promotion. The Kevin Butler character was, for a significant period, the figurehead of Sony's advertising for PlayStation 3 and...

  • News LEGO City Undercover: The Chase Begins Confirmed For 3DS

    The chase actually begins on 21st April

    While there's been plenty of information and footage for LEGO City: Undercover on Wii U, the open-world title that offers a potential blend of block-based madness and GTA, all has been silent on the announced 3DS equivalent. Nintendo's now confirmed that 3DS isn't getting a stripped back equivalent, but a...

  • News 3DS Maintains Dominance of the Japanese Charts

    Wii U slips just behind PlayStation 3

    The latest round of sales results from Japan, covering the period from 7th to 13th January, give us an early indication of sales levels in the region after the boosted business of the Holiday season. They tell a mixed tale, with 3DS still ruling the roost and Wii U scrapping it out within the main pack. In...

  • News The Sundance Festival and Red Carpet Are Calling For Mario

    Nintendo's going to the movies

    The Sundance Film Festival is one of the best-known and prestigious events of its kind in the film calendar, with events, screenings and prize-giving being given gloss by plenty of celebrities and successful actors. After Nintendo UK's short-film partnership with the British Film Institute (BFI) last year it's now...

  • News Nintendo Unifying Handheld and Console Divisions in Business Restructure

    $340 million being invested in a new development facility

    While many of us focus exclusively on our latest Nintendo consoles and what games are coming up, it's easy to forget that Nintendo's a rather large corporation that's always evolving and seeking a business edge. While it may crush any perceptions that Nintendo's facilities are populated by...

  • Talking Point Wii U's Beginnings and Challenges For 2013

    Convincing sceptics is one

    Recent sales figures and industry conversations have given us a fair old glut of analytical articles focused on Wii U in recent days. For a system that's barely a couple of months old, there's been a temptation in some quarters to either predict doom and a major loss of market share, or to put faith in Nintendo's...

  • News Wii U Software Sales Are "Struggling"

    Analyst states Wii U launch games have failed to match Wii and GameCube equivalents

    Last week NPD figures — which cover U.S. retail results — were published covering 25th November to 29th December, and Nintendo of America issued a few facts and figures of its own in response to them. The figures showed that Wii U had performed pretty well since...

  • News Analyst Firm Concerned That Wii U Will "Lack Broad Appeal"

    Believes Sony and Microsoft successors are due this year

    Last week saw the annual tech hoopla of Consumer Electronics Association (CES) 2013, with a number of gadgets such as the Nvidia Project Shield handheld unveiled. Although not all major technology companies were in attendance, it was an opportunity for various contacts to be made and for...

  • News Satoru Iwata: Customers Understanding The Wii U "Will Take a Little Time"

    "We aim to leave a smile on our customer's faces"

    With a New Year and Nintendo's upcoming announcement of its Q3 financial results, Satoru Iwata and his team have plenty to think about. 2013 will be an important year to continue momentum on 3DS with big releases, and more importantly to grow the Wii U audience as much as possible. Speaking to...

  • Feature Pokémon X & Y - What We Know So Far

    Let's summarise

    Earlier this week, through an aptly titled Pokémon Direct, Nintendo President Satoru Iwata brought the news that Pokémon fans had been waiting for; a new generation main-series entry on the system. Pokémon X & Y will — like its predecessors — be released in two separate flavours, but with the developers choosing letters as...