January2013

  • News Nintendo Announces 890,000 Wii U Sales in U.S. Launch

    Higher revenues than Wii launch, 3DS has over 1.25 million sales in Holiday period

    Nintendo of America has issued a series of facts and figures for its Holiday period performance in the U.S., following publication of the latest NPD figures that cover 25th November to 29th December. There were some solid results and, perhaps most importantly, decent...

  • News Data Analyst Firm Expects Discs to Remain as Console Mainstays

    Predicts that Wii U will exceed 50 million sales by year-end 2016

    With the continually evolving gaming industry, and a dizzying range of devices and platforms beyond the conventional big three of Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft, there are plenty of people who wonder whether the era of the dedicated game console is coming to a gradual end. Time will...

  • News Main Pokémon RPG Series Continues to Prioritise Portable Gaming

    At least 50 new creatures and 'Real Play' confirmed

    Earlier today The Pokémon Company International provided names and some attractive artwork for two Legendary Pokémon in the upcoming Pokémon X & Y, and now some more crumbs of information have emerged. J.C. Smith, the director of consumer marketing for the Pokémon company international,...

  • News Pokémon X & Y Legendary Details Revealed

    Names and artwork shared with us all

    After yesterday's announcement of Pokémon X & Y, which possibly led to worldwide hype overload and mayhem on the streets, The Pokémon Company International has issued some information on the new 'mon that made an appearance at the very end of the announcement trailer. These are two new Legendary Pokémon:...

  • News GameStop Reports 320,000 Wii U Sales Since Launch

    Covers a large range of trading territories

    As another year settles in snippets of information are starting to reveal the Holiday fortunes of Wii U, since its North American arrival on 18th November and its subsequent releases in Europe, Japan and elsewhere. NPD figures should paint a clearer picture for the US later this week, while Nintendo's own...

  • Talking Point Pokémon X & Y Provide a Timely Boost for 3DS in the West

    The DS era is left behind

    The biggest release on DS in 2012, and surely the runaway winner of practically every Game of the Year award specifically tailored for the older handheld, were the Pokémon Black & White 2 titles, tied together for the purposes of simplicity. Yet its announcement and release on the platform surprised a number of gamers...

  • News 3DS Surpasses 10 Million Sales in Japan

    It keeps on rolling

    While worldwide performance and firm figures are either hard to find or occasionally shown to be modest, one thing is certain — the 3DS is emerging as a major sales success in Japan. Perhaps due to the power of franchises — Animal Crossing: New Leaf has been a monster hit — the handheld's performance is such that it's...

  • News Pokémon X and Pokémon Y Caught In Worldwide Release This October

    3D is super effective

    Today, after over a week of teasing a major announcement, Nintendo President Satoru Iwata used the first Nintendo Direct broadcast of the year to unveil Pokémon X & Y, the first main-series entries on the company's latest handheld. Brief footage shown demonstrated a 3D environment rather than a fixed overhead view, while...

  • News Satoru Iwata Says That Wii U is "Selling Steadily"

    Nintendo share prices have dropped since the system's launch

    Although no concrete sales figures for Wii U have been given so far, Satoru Iwata has spoken about the performance of Nintendo's new home console in its early weeks. Many have observed that stock has been readily available and easy to obtain in recent times, a significantly different...

  • News Animal Crossing: New Leaf Has Been Downloaded Half A Million Times In Japan

    Iwata reveals that smartphones have played a huge part in the game's success

    Animal Crossing: New Leaf has become something of a smash hit in its native Japan; as of December, it has sold 2 million copies, becoming one of the most popular 3DS games yet and illustrating just how massive Nintendo's console is in the far east. Download sales haven't...

  • News New Super Mario Bros. U's High-Definition Credentials Tested

    Up-scaled Wii engine, or genuine leap in graphical detail?

    Now that the dust has settled on Wii U's launch, a number of people have spent extensive time with New Super Mario Bros. U and seen the first ever HD appearance of Mario outside of the Dolphin emulator on Wii. For those that do put a certain stock in visual fidelity as well as simple...

  • News Miyamoto: Pikmin 3 To Be More Like Series Original

    Legendary designer looking to increase the player's stress levels

    In a recent interview with UK gaming publication, GamesMaster, Shigeru Miyamoto has claimed that he wants Pikmin 3's gameplay to have more in common with the first game of the series, rather than its sequel. Miyamoto stated that he wasn't happy with the decision to make Pikmin 2 less...

  • Talking Point Nintendo's New Year Resolutions

    Mario should probably lose some weight

    So it's the start of a New Year, and is the ideal time to reflect on hopes for future success and on what can be done better. Nintendo had an exceptionally busy 2012, working hard to expand the 3DS user-base and releasing the XL hardware iteration, while also bringing us its new home console, Wii U. We can...

December2012

  • News Animal Crossing: New Leaf Hits 2 Million Sales In Japan

    Not even Mario or Monster Hunter could win the race

    Animal Crossing: New Leaf has been doing extremely well in Japan since its release at the beginning of November this year. A couple of days after hitting stores the game had sold out across Japan, leaving many fans disappointed who never managed to grab a physical copy. Not long before the month...

  • Interview Nintendo of America's Dan Adelman

    Meet the man who has shaped the face of Nintendo download gaming

    Over the years WiiWare, DSiWare and the 3DS eShop have seen some critically-acclaimed 'indie' classics, such as the BIT.TRIP series, World of Goo, Mutant Mudds and more. Although he may not be a household name like Reggie Fils-Aime or Bill Trinen, Dan Adelman nevertheless plays a...

  • News Nintendo of Europe's Satoru Shibata Gives a Christmas Message

    We're pretty sure he mentions Nintendo Life

    It's the festive season and many are starting to put their feet up and eat too much food — not us, we'll be bringing you features every day throughout the Holiday period. Nintendo of Europe's boss, Satoru Shibata, has left a fairly lengthy message for Nintendo fans, talking about his move into hosting...

  • News The 3DS Cartridge Case Returns to Club Nintendo in North America

    But none for you, Europe

    Due to popular demand Nintendo has decided to restock the North American Club Nintendo with a limited supply of 3DS game cartridge cases, available for the sum of 250 coins. The case can hold eighteen 3DS or DS games and has four reversible sleeves, with art from The Legend of Zelda and Mario series. It's the same size as a...

  • News This New Super Mario Bros. 2 Course Pack Will Push Your Skills To The Limit

    "Impossible" and "Mystery" packs available in North America today

    Nintendo has revealed the final DLC Course Packs for New Super Mario Bros. 2. The "Impossible" and "Mystery Adventures" packs will be available in North America from today for $2.50 a piece. Both contain three new courses for the game's popular Coin Rush mode. Mystery Adventures is...

  • News Mario And Friends Wish Us All Happy Holidays

    Oops, we forgot to send a card back...

    As part of the festive season it's time to exchange messages of kindness and friendship with some cards. Mario and the gang have gone for the electronic approach — a whole forest would have been lost to send cards to every Nintendo gamer — with a dedicated web page to wish you Happy Holidays. If you want to...

  • News Nintendo Releases a Video Guide for Wii to Wii U Transfer

    Don't forget the extra TV

    Though Wii U has been available in North America for nearly a month, Nintendo is still producing information and videos to help new owners get the most out of their systems. One strength of the new console, something that Nintendo's been offering for a number of years on different systems, is full backward compatibility...

  • Feature Memorable Nintendo Direct Moments

    Bringing ten memories direct, to you

    Over the years, Nintendo’s press conferences have produced some truly memorable moments, showcasing the fun that is at the heart of the company’s development philosophy. E3 showcases for games such as Wii Sports and Wii Fit became show highlights for many attendees, which not only served to promote and...

  • Talking Point Time to Adjust Nintendo Direct Expectations

    How many big reveals can there be?

    It's easy to lose track of time in the helter-skelter video game industry, with games and exciting new projects that are merely months old already being so yesterday. We want the latest, hottest new games and announcements ten minutes ago, so stop telling us about old stuff, ok? For Nintendo gamers, the...

  • News Wii U Is The "Greenest" HD Console

    Not literally, obviously

    The Digital Foundry team over at Eurogamer.net has been doing a fair amount of work with Wii U since it launched, for the most part putting multi-platform titles through their paces on the system. The results, with Trine 2: Director's Cut being the exception, are that the system has often fallen slightly behind its rivals,...

  • News Wii U Struggles to Make an Impact in the UK Software Charts

    Stock shortages or poor sales?

    When Wii U initially launched in the UK its system exclusive titles made a modest start in the all-format software charts, which was hardly surprising as only 40,000 units had been available for sale in its first week. This week's results, unfortunately, make slightly grim reading, with no Wii U exclusives making it...

  • Feature Our Staff's Thoughts on Wii U - Part One

    The beginning of a new era

    Now that Wii U has arrived in both Europe and North America, a number of the Nintendo Life team have got their hands on the system and have been happily playing various launch titles. We've already produced a number of Wii U reviews — with more on the way — and provided a formal hardware review, but decided that it'd...