December2012

  • News New Super Mario Bros. U Wins VGA For Best Wii / Wii U Game

    No other Nintendo winners

    Another year, another Video Game Awards (VGA) extravaganza on Spike TV. The VGAs are undoubtedly polarising within the gaming community, possibly due to their reliance on celebrity presenters — Samuel L. Jackson made his fourth appearance this year — exclusive premieres of trailers and a lot of glitzy goings-on that...

  • News Nintendo Network Premium Website Goes Live

    Good news for enthusiastic Wii U eShoppers

    Unlike with the arrival of Wii, Nintendo gamers have an important choice to make when picking up a Wii U — Premium or Basic? Various factors dictate the final decision, and perhaps one is the Nintendo Network Premium promotion, which gives those with the black model points for Wii U eShop purchases. If...

  • News Satoru Iwata is 53 Today

    Happy Birthday, Iwata-san

    Today brings us another Birthday for one of Nintendo's most well-known figures, with President Satoru Iwata turning 53 today. It would seem that, should he want to, Iwata-san will be able to continue in his current role for many years to come. Satoru Iwata had a passion for video game development from a young age, deciding...

  • News Luigi's Mansion 2, Castlevania and Brain Training Coming Spring 2013 in Europe and North America

    Better start saving now

    In its Nintendo Direct presentations earlier today, Nintendo gave a better indication of when western gamers can expect to play a few upcoming 3DS titles: Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon, Castlevania: Lords of Shadow - Mirror of Fate and Dr Kawashima's Devilish Brain Training: Can You Stay Focused? (Brain Age: Concentration...

  • News Pikmin 3 and Animal Crossing: New Leaf Drop Into Q2 2013

    Localisation and development to blame

    During today's Nintendo Direct broadcasts in North America and Europe, Nintendo showed fairly brief glimpses of Pikmin 3 and Animal Crossing: New Leaf, with the Wii U title getting a little longer to flex its HD muscles. There was disappointing news, however, as Nintendo of Europe boss Satoru Shibata confirmed...

  • News Panorama View to be Sighted on Wii U eShop in Spring 2013

    Confirmed in Japan, at least

    One of the first concepts that was shown off for Wii U, and which made an appearance at various demo opportunities and expo appearances for the system, was Panorama View. It's a relatively simple app that uses real-life video and allows you to view the action from any angle you desire, simply by moving the GamePad. It's...

  • News TVii and Hulu Part of Day One Wii U Update in Japan

    NA and Europe apps on the way?

    In today's Japanese Nintendo Direct, Satoru Iwata focused on the company's homeland launch details for Wii U, with the system arriving on 8th December. One announcement that did catch the eye was confirmation that TVii will be part of the day one update, along with the slightly less surprising confirmation of a Hulu...

  • News Nintendo Now Involved With Twilight Symphony

    Set to be released before Christmas

    Twilight Symphony, the epic 3-disc orchestral rearrangement of music from The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, was set to be released mid-November but never actually made it through the letterboxes of those who placed an order. The box-set, made by the extremely talented Zelda Reorchestrated and distributed by...

  • News Nintendo of America Confirms Its Own Nintendo Direct Broadcast

    All set for 5th December

    With the announcement earlier today that Nintendo of Europe is hosting a Nintendo Direct broadcast this week, it seems that its colleagues across the Atlantic have decided to join in; the Nintendo of America equivalent is also scheduled for tomorrow, 5th December. The NA broadcast starts at 9am Pacific, which is 11am...

  • News Nintendo Unfolds Paper Mario Visual History

    It's so pretty

    Paper Mario: Sticker Star is days away in Europe and has been available in North America for a few weeks, and represents the first venture of the flat Mario onto a handheld. It's the fourth entry of a series over a decade old, meanwhile, games with enough RPG elements and dialogue to require a bit more development time than a...

  • News Reggie Fils-Aime Focused on Customer Feedback, Not Industry Critics

    "Every time we launch a new system, there are significant challenges"

    With the exception of Japan, which joins the party this weekend, most of the world has now had the opportunity to pick up a Wii U, or to at least be told that it's out of stock while extra supplies are brought in. Thanks to the wonders of the internet and Nintendo's own Miiverse,...

  • Feature Taking Off to the Miiverse

    Remember everyone, it's all about empathy

    Apart from those living in Japan, many Nintendo gamers will have now spent some time with Wii U, Nintendo's new home console and foray into a variety of bold new directions. A great deal of focus, unsurprisingly, is given to the company's first dalliance with HD visuals, and more prominently the various uses...

  • News Wii U Hits 40K Sales in UK Launch

    Might not sound like much, but it's a sellout

    Although Europe-wide figures are yet to surface, it appears that Wii U has been a sell-out success on its launch weekend in the UK. According to MCV's estimates, 40K units were sold throughout the UK, with retailers reporting that this effectively meant a complete sellout. Weeks ago there were worrying...

  • News Wii Mini Doesn't Include an SD Slot

    Just another thing to add to the list

    It has been discovered that the recently unveiled Wii Mini system does not have an SD card slot. The new miniaturised Wii, which — bizarrely enough — will only be available to purchase in Canada, is a cut-down version of the original Wii that lacks online functionality or GameCube backward compatibility...

  • Feature Your Guide to a Nintendo Holiday

    Christmas time, Mario and Trine...

    It's Christmas time, and we all know what that means — rapidly depleting bank accounts, lots of food and merriment, and plenty of video gaming. The Holiday season actually means different things depending on your own perspective, of course, but to many it's a great opportunity to spend time with family and...

  • News Amazon Distributes Nintendo Land Codes For Missing Bundle Copies

    You may have to ask for a physical copy

    During the European Wii U launch shenanigans a few days ago, we reported that some gamers were receiving their Wii U systems a day early from Amazon and other online retailers, but that some Premium bundles were missing their copy of Nintendo Land. This must have been particularly frustrating for those buying...

  • Talking Point Selling the Wii U Concept - The GamePad and eShop

    All part of a big package

    So the Wii U system is now well and truly out in the wild, with Japan being the last major territory to join in. It may seem peculiar that Nintendo should satisfy its home country last, but judging from the area's consistently daunting sales of 3DS it's not likely to be a tough market to crack. North America and Europe —...

November2012

  • News Some Euro Wii U Buyers Reporting A Distinct Lack Of Nintendo Land In Their Premium Bundle

    Some of our bundled software is missing

    As you'll no doubt be aware if you've been closely following our Wii U Euro launch thread, many people who ordered their systems online have been getting them a day early. While this should be reason enough to be very excited indeed, we've been informed by some early adopters that their joy has quickly turned...

  • News Animal Crossing: New Leaf Surpasses One Million Sales

    E.X. Troopers has an underwhelming start

    When Animal Crossing: New Leaf was released in Japan, demand was so high that physical copies of the game sold out, while eShop download sales returned some rather impressive results. Subsequent weeks have remained solid, with the latest Media Create results showing that the title has passed the one million...

  • News Mario Kart 7 3DS XL Bundle Confirmed for North America

    Rumour drifts into truth

    Less than 24 hours ago we reported two fresh 3DS rumours, which involved a standard model price cut and a new XL bundle. It didn't take long for one of them to be confirmed by Nintendo, with Holiday shoppers set to be tempted by a blue 3DS XL that also includes Mario Kart 7. As previously reported, this bundle will have a...

  • News Game Designer Says "Wii U Isn't Sure of Itself, and That's its Greatest Virtue"

    Nintendo tackles modern technology habits

    There are plenty of us, outside of North America at least, that are waiting to spend serious time on Wii U, so concepts such as asynchronous multiplayer are still shrouded in some mystery; even early adopters are likely to still be discovering new uses for the system's GamePad controller. Plenty is already...

  • News Nintendo of Europe Gives Free Retail Game to 3DS XL Owners

    Download delights

    Club Nintendo is a nice extra for Nintendo gamers, though we imagine there are a few that don't necessarily bother to go through the process of logging in and completing surveys for all of their game or hardware purchases. That may change due to a handsome new promotion for 3DS XL, as Nintendo of Europe is offering a free retail...

  • Rumour 3DS Gearing Up For Another Price Drop

    Not quite as drastic this time

    Today's confirmation of Wii Mini, initially in Canada alone, is an intriguing move that is as surprising as it is creative. After all, our very first report of the rumour had a cheeky tagline referring to flying pigs; consider it a lesson learned, never underestimate Nintendo logic. Rumours of a fresh 3DS price drop...

  • News New Super Mario Bros. 2 Players Have Snagged Over 300 Billion Coins

    Nintendo Direct delivers the happy news, DLC launched to celebrate

    Nintendo Japan released a new Nintendo Direct presentation yesterday in which president Satoru Iwata announced that over 300 billion coins had been collected by New Super Mario Bros. 2 players worldwide. To mark the proud occasion, a DLC level pack has been made available free of...

  • News Reggie Fils-Aime: Wii U Is "Much More Graphically Intensive" Than Rival Systems

    Content from major devs to make for a "well-rounded console"

    While there's been much talk about Wii U in terms of its substantial launch lineup, as well as opinions on the system's operation system and functions such as Miiverse, there's also been plenty of discussion about CPU chips and graphical capabilities. Like Wii before it, some are...